Zaka Ashraf sheds light on controversy around Asia Cup's schedule announcement

The chairman of the PCB management committee, Zaka Ashraf, was supposed to unveil the schedule and the trophy of the Asia Cup 2023 at 7.15 pm (Pakistan time) in Lahore. However, Jay Shah, the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), announced the schedule on Twitter just 45 minutes prior to the planned unveiling ceremony, catching the cricketing community off-guard. 

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Ashraf shed light on the minor controversy surrounding Asia Cup's schedule announcement timings. He stated that the pre-decided time for the announcement was apparently shared and agreed upon by both the PCB and others.

"Basically, there was an issue of time difference. Maybe there was some sort of misunderstanding involved, and they announced it half an hour earlier. The time decided between both the boards was the same; it could have been better if they would've announced it at the pre-decided time. But if they did, we didn't create an issue around it because if we want to establish good working relations with them, we shouldn't be bothered by such minor issues," Ashraf said.

“We arranged a rather glittering ceremony and unveiled the trophy. Many renowned cricketers attended the event. All of us collectively prayed for Pakistan that may Allah bless Pakistan with the utmost respect and Pakistan will be known as one of the top cricketing nations in the world," he added.

Asia Cup will 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.