Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi has openly criticized the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for its choice of Sri Lanka as the venue for the Asia Cup 2023.
Najam Sethi expressed his deep disappointment with this decision, suggesting that political considerations seemed to outweigh the principles of sportsmanship. Sethi’s criticism was prompted by the recent cancellation of the highly anticipated India vs. Pakistan match due to rain in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
In the wake of this incident, he questioned the ACC’s decision not to select the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a co-host for the Asia Cup, especially after India had declined to play matches in Pakistan. Sethi implied that this choice might have been influenced by factors beyond cricketing considerations.
Sethi underscored that the UAE had previously successfully hosted the Asia Cup in similarly hot weather conditions during the September 2022 edition and had also organized Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in April 2014 and September 2020 without weather-related issues.
His comments underscore the significance of transparent and fair decision-making in international cricket tournaments and highlight the complexities of balancing politics and sports within such contexts.
He concluded by suggesting that politics may have overshadowed the core values of sportsmanship in the decision-making process.
