Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi has said that the board stands to lose around $3 million in revenues if Pakistan refuses to play in the Asia Cup this year. Sethi stated that this loss of revenue was "a matter of principle" as Pakistan is due to host the tournament in September, but uncertainty surrounds the venue of the tournament due to India's refusal to play in Pakistan.
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"We have made it very clear that unless the Asia Cup is held on a hybrid model like we have proposed, that is India playing its matches at an offshore venue and Pakistan hosting the remaining games at home we will not accept any other schedule and neither play," he said according to PTI. "We will not lose our hosting rights," he added.
To resolve this issue, Sethi has proposed a "hybrid model" to host the Asia Cup, where India will play its matches at an offshore venue. Sethi has also revealed that 80 per cent of the revenues earned by the Asian Cricket Council come from Pakistan and India matches. However, he acknowledged that if the Asian Cricket Council accepts the hybrid model, it could have a bearing on the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup as well.
"Security is no excuse for them now and we have told them if their government is not giving them clearance to play in Pakistan show us some written proof of this," Sethi said. "When all other teams including Australia, England, New Zealand are playing in Pakistan without any issues there should be no security concerns for India to tour Pakistan."
Najam Sethi revealed the potential financial repercussions of boycotting the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2023 World Cup#PakistanCricket #NajamSethi pic.twitter.com/60hpUHh76u
— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) April 11, 2023
Sethi further noted that relations with the ICC are different, and if Pakistan refused to play in the World Cup, it could negatively affect the relations. Therefore, while Pakistan is willing to bear the loss of revenue, it remains to be seen how this issue will be resolved and what impact it may have on the upcoming tournaments.
