PCB fumes as Jay Shah takes spotlight away from official Asia Cup ceremony

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has expressed its dissatisfaction with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and president of the Asian Cricket Council, Jay Shah.

The cause of concern arises from Jay Shah announcing the schedule of the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2023 before the official ceremony organized by the PCB in Lahore earlier this week.

According to sources, the PCB had an agreement with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the schedule would be released five minutes into the ceremony. However, much to their dismay, Jay Shah took to social media and revealed the Asia Cup schedule half an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, at approximately 7:15 pm.

“The PCB had a clear understanding with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) (that) it would release the schedule of the Asia Cup, five minutes after the ceremony started in Lahore. But unfortunately, half-an-hour before the ceremony started around 7.15pm, Jay Shah had announced it on social media.” source told PTI.

"The ACC's explanation was about misunderstandings over the time difference and all that, but the thing is, India is half-an-hour ahead of Pakistan time, so Jay Shah's announcement was a shock,” he added.

The ACC cited misunderstandings regarding the time difference as the reason behind the premature announcement. However, the time difference between India and Pakistan is only half an hour, making Jay Shah's announcement an unexpected shock for the PCB and the cricketing fraternity.

"It appears as if Jay Shah settled scores after the confusion and questions he had to face over, whether he had accepted an invitation from Zaka to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup matches which was widely circulated by Mazari and the PCB in the media,” the source concluded.

The tournament, which was initially planned to begin on August 31, will now kick off on August 30, with Pakistan taking on Nepal in the opening match in Multan.

This year's Asia Cup will be played in the 50-overs format, featuring 13 matches.

In Group A, Pakistan will lock horns with arch-rivals India and Nepal, while Group B will have Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Four stage, where they will vie for a spot in the final. The tournament's final is slated for September 17 in Colombo.

Schedule:

• 30 Aug – Pakistan v Nepal, Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan, Pakistan
• 31 Aug – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka
• 2 Sep – Pakistan v India, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium Kandy, Sri Lanka
• 3 Sep – Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
• 4 Sep – India v Nepal, Pallekele International Cricket stadium Kandy, Sri Lanka
• 5 Sep – Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
• 6 Sep – A1 v B2 (Super-4), Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
• 9 Sep – B1 v B2 (Super-4), R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Colombo, Sri Lanka
• 10 Sep – A1 v A2 (Super-4), R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Colombo, Sri Lanka
• 12 Sep – A2 v B1 (Super-4), R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Colombo, Sri Lanka
• 14 Sep – A1 v B1 (Super-4), R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Colombo, Sri Lanka
• 15 Sep – A2 v B2, (Super-4), R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Colombo, Sri Lanka
• 17 Sep – Final - 1 v 2, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS), Colombo, Sri Lanka
• 18 Sep – Reserve day for the final