“Hopefully the 2023 Asian Cup will be held in Dubai or Sri Lanka so they can travel abroad and stay in 5 star hotels”
Veteran wicket batsman Kamran Akmal praises former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi for ensuring that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will play in 2023. Mixed mode is used in the Asian Cup.
He sees Sisi alone as responsible for the hybrid model. Akmal said other members of the board were eager to host the entire continental race in Dubai or Sri Lanka because that would allow them to travel abroad and stay in five-star hotels.
Akmal said in a video shared on his official YouTube channel:
“We have to thank Najam Sethi for that. The mixed model was accepted because of his personal interest. If we talk about his team, those people want the Asian Cup to be held in Dubai or Sri Lanka just because they can travel abroad, live five star hotel.”
The 41-year-old pointed out that at one stage, Pakistan will not even play a single 2023 Asian Cup match. Akmal praised Sethi’s efforts, adding:
“Najam Sisi also tried hard to convince Jay Shah and ACC to adopt a hybrid model. It will not be an easy task. At a certain point in time, it seems that Pakistan will not play any more Asian Cup games. Every game Pakistan People wanted the game to be played in Pakistan because we were the hosts. It took a lot of convincing and the board spent more than six months trying to make sure that was the case.”
It is worth mentioning that the 2023 Asian Cup is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka and Pakistan from August 31 to September 17. Four matches of the ODI Championship will be played in Pakistan and nine matches in Sri Lanka.
‘Everyone from media to ex-cricketers should be talking about this’ – Kamran Akmal on mixed model for Asia Cup 2023
Zaka Ashraf, who is likely to be the new PCB chairman after Najam Sethi’s exit, recently expressed his displeasure with the hybrid model. He told a news conference that Pakistan should negotiate better because playing just four matches is not very beneficial to them.
He clarified, though, that he’s not rejecting the hybrid model entirely. He told ESPNCricinfo that he had no choice but to honor his commitment given that the decision had already been made.
In this regard, Kamran Akmal further stated that Ashraf was right to express his views. He urged former cricketers and the media to also speak out about the issue, saying:
“Zaka Ashraf is expected to be the next PCB chairman. Once he takes office, he will understand the problems of Pakistan cricket. He recently talked about the mixed model of the Asian Cup. I believe not only him, but also from the media and Everyone in the media. Ex-cricketers should be talking about this.”
In the 2023 Asian Cup, Pakistan, India and Nepal are in Group A, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B.
editor
Sankarp Srivastava
