COLOMBO: The controversy over shifting the Super Four stage of the 2023 Asia Cup out of Colombo refuses to die down. Now, a letter from the Pakistan Cricket Board has revealed that they have not taken the decision to not shift the venue lightly. The PCB, apparently, has written to the Asian Cricket Council on Tuesday expressing their disappointment.
“I am writing to record the PCB’s protest regarding the unprofessional mode and manner in which decision-making is taking place at the ACC level,” read the letter written by the PCB.
The letter also claims that after a meeting convened on September 4 following the India-Nepal match in Kandy, a team of PCB officials including logistics and security representatives were asked to proceed to Hambantota to conduct hotel recce and block the rooms.
The letter also revealed quite a few other details that were listed out in the letter. The other action points after the meeting included charter flights bringing teams to Sri Lanka from Pakistan directly landing in Hambantota and sending Sri Lanka Cricket’s head curator to the newly chosen venue to prepare the match and practice wickets.
The letter claims that the ACC has even sent an email confirming the Asia Cup matches to be held in Colombo have been moved to Hambantota. However, the letter claimed that 27 minutes later, ACC sent another mail that said there were no changes in venue and the matches will be played in Colombo. “This came as a surprise and shock to the PCB, who had neither been consulted nor kept in the loop, as the host of the Asia Cup 2023, is deeply troubled by the lack of consultation and communication that led to these ostensible and unilateral decisions,” claimed the letter from PCB. “It is still not clear who has taken this decision and in this regard, a clarification is demanded.”
The PCB also cited an email sent by the SLC to claim that the weather forecast of the Department of Meteorology clearly says that conditions in Colombo are not favourable to host matches. “We have raised strong objections. They said the decision to keep the tournament in Colombo was taken taking into consideration the foreign and local spectators who have already booked hotels and made other arrangements to watch the match. How can weather conditions change within a span of a few minutes? Anyway, it will be the spectators who are bound to lose if the match is washed out due to rains,” a PCB source said.
The PCB has demanded the ACC to take responsibility if it suffers any financial losses including gate receipts due to wash-outs and reimburse the same. “The ACC chief has given a verbal assurance that the PCB will be compensated if it incurs any losses due to rain. Three teams — Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — will reach Colombo on Thursday. The preparations are on in Colombo. The campaign to promote the Super Four stage which was stalled briefly has recommenced. We can only hope it doesn’t rain on match days,” added the PCB source.
The SLC and ACC did not respond to queries. However, on Tuesday, Jay Shah, the ACC chief said, “All the full members, media rights holders, and in-stadia rights holders were initially hesitant to commit to hosting the entire tournament in Pakistan. This reluctance stemmed from concerns related to the security and economic situation prevailing in the country.” He also said, “The decision-making process regarding the Asia Cup 2023 format and venue was guided by a sincere desire to prioritize the well-being of the players, as well as the overarching interests of the sport. Ultimately, the goal was to strike a balance that would allow for a competitive and successful tournament while ensuring the health and readiness of the participating teams for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.”