The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, Najam Sethi, recently announced that the Pakistani cricket team will not participate in the World Cup to be held in India. This decision came after India refused to send its team to play the Asia Cup in Pakistan.
Sethi made this announcement during an interview with an Indian sports channel on Thursday. He stated that the proposed hybrid model, if accepted, could be implemented for the World Cup 2023 in India and the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.
The hybrid model suggested by Sethi is a compromise whereby the group stage of the Asia Cup would be played in Pakistan, followed by the remaining matches, including the final, at a neutral venue. This model has been proposed in an effort to encourage India to send its team to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been urging the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to move the Asia Cup out of Pakistan. The BCCI is convincing the other members of the ACC not to play in Pakistan.
During the interview, Sethi also disclosed a conversation he had with a senior ACC representative regarding the hybrid model. Sethi stated that the representative will be discussing the model with the members of the ACC before making a decision.
The PCB chairman also clarified that Pakistan will not face any sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC) if they decide to opt out of playing in the World Cup in India due to security reasons. The ICC’s force majeure clause allows member countries to withdraw from events if they feel security concerns or unforeseen situations arise.
It should be noted that the Indian media has reported that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have opposed the hybrid model proposed by the PCB. However, sources within the PCB have confirmed that both countries have reservations about playing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the hot weather conditions in September, which is the scheduled time for the Asia Cup.