NEW DELHI: Comments are 'baseless and vehemently denied' were the strong words used by the Asian Cricket Coucil in a clarification media release after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi targeted Jay Shah for 'unilaterally presenting' the Asian cricket's 2023-24 roster.
The ACC president Shah in a tweet on Thursday had presented the ACC Calendar 2023-24 and the pathway structure which also features the 50-over Asia Cup.
PCB's interim chairman Sethi alleged that the schedule was unilaterally presented and taunted the ACC president saying that Shah might as well present calendar for Pakistan's domestic league.
Sethi's sarcastic response to Shah's tweet read, "Thank you Jay Shah for unilaterally presenting ACC structure & calendars 2023-24 especially relating to Asia Cup 2023 for which Pakistan is the event host. While you are at it, you might as well present structure and calendar of our PSL 2023! A swift response will be appreciated."
Asian Cricket Council on Friday issued an official statement slamming Sethi for his baseless comments and brought to light that the calendar was communicated to all the participating members individually.
"It has come to our knowledge that PCB Chairman Mr. Najam Sethi has made a comment on the ACC President unilaterally taking the decision on finalising the calendar and announcing the same. The ACC wants to clarify that it has followed established due process. The calendar was approved by its Development Committee and Finance & Marketing Committee in a meeting held on December 13th, 2022," ACC's statement read
The calendar was then communicated to all the participating members individually, including Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), via an email dated December 22nd, 2022. While responses were received from certain Member Boards, no comments or suggested modifications were received from PCB. In view of the above, Mr. Sethi’s comments on a social media platform are baseless and are vehemently denied by the ACC," read the release.
As per the new calendar, 2023 will start off with Men's Challengers Cup, a ten-team fifty-over tournament.
The men's Asia Cup, the main tournament of ACC, will be held in September.
