- Thursday, February 27, 2025
A well-informed source in the PCB said the invitation was sent to Shah more out of hope than any realistic expectation of him visiting Pakistan.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday (18) invited Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), to attend the opening game of the upcoming Asia Cup tournament in Multan where the home team will take on debutantes Nepal.
The PCB said besides Shah, who is also the son of Indian home minister and the second-most powerful leader in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party after prime minister Narendra Modi, it also invited heads of other boards that are part of the ACC for the inaugural match.
A well-informed source in the PCB said the invitation was sent to Shah more out of hope than any realistic expectation of him visiting Pakistan.
“The PCB has basically followed up on the invitation which was extended verbally by Chairman Zaka Ashraf to Jay Shah when they both met in Durban for the ICC meeting,” the source said.
The Pakistani media had then reported that Shah accepted the PCB’s invitation, but the BCCI secretary denied the claim.
“The PCB was obviously 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 said.
Aware of the existing relations between India and Pakistan, the source said PCB wanted to show that it does not mix sports with politics by extending the invitation to Shah.
“The idea is to basically highlight Pakistan’s chosen stance on cricket relations with India that it does not mix politics with sports,” he added.
The Asia Cup 2023 will be held from August 30 to September 17 across venues in Pakistan and Sri Lanka after India refused to send its team to Pakistan which was to play the only host originally.
Pakistan and India will lock horns in the group stage in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on September 2.
(With PTI inputs)
