On August 30, Pakistan will host the first match of the Asia Cup 2023 campaign against Nepal in Multan...
Digital Desk: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) invited Jay Shah, BCCI Secretary and President of the ACC, to attend the Asia Cup opener between Pakistan and Nepal on August 30 in Multan.
The PCB stated that, in addition to Shah, it has invited the chiefs of other boards that are members of the Asian Cricket Council to the opening match.
According to a PCB source, the invitation was given to Shah more out of hope than any serious anticipation of him visiting Pakistan.
"The PCB has followed up on the invitation that Chairman Zaka Ashraf extended verbally to Jay Shah when they both met in Durban for the ICC meeting," the source said.
The Pakistani media later stated that Shah had accepted the invitation from the PCB, but the BCCI secretary refuted this claim. "The PCB was embarrassed after the Pakistani media reported that Jay Shah had accepted Zaka Ashraf's invitation, and the Indian board official later flatly denied this," he explained.
Given the present tensions between India and Pakistan, the source stated that by inviting Shah, PCB intended to demonstrate that it does not mix sports and politics. "The idea is to highlight Pakistan's chosen stance on cricket relations with India, which is that it does not mix politics with sports," he continued.
The Asia Cup 2023 will be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
