Jay Shah, Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Wednesday refuted claims that he had accepted an invitation to travel to Pakistan following a meeting with Zaka Ashraf of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Jay Shah denies accepting invitation: The denial comes a day after Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, and Zaka Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB Interim Management Committee, met in Durban, South Africa, outside of meetings of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Concerns over Pakistan visiting India for the World Cup, which is scheduled to be played from October 5 to November 19, led to the two heads of the cricket boards to meet.
Following the meeting, Ehsanur Rehman Mazari, the minister for interprovincial coordination, revealed that Shah had accepted Ashraf’s invitation to travel to Pakistan in advance of the Asia Cup.
I recently spoke with Zaka Ashraf, and he informed me that he has invited Jay Shah to travel to Pakistan to see the security precautions in person. In addition to inviting Zaka to visit India before the World Cup, Shah also accepted the invitation, the minister informed Dawn.
Shah and the BCCI both refuted the idea of a Pakistan visit on Wednesday.
“I’ve made no agreements. This misinterpretation is blatant. Most likely done on purpose or with malice. According to Shah, I won’t be visiting,” News18 CricketNext said.
BCCI Official Denies Discussions on India-Pakistan Cricket Series and Confirms Asia Cup Schedule
In addition, according to the BCCI, “no such discussion” took place during the meeting between Shah and Ashraf.
Contrary to allegations that have appeared, neither India nor our secretary would be visiting Pakistan, according to BCCI official and Indian Premier League chairman Arun Dhumal, who spoke to Press Trust of India.
Dhumal was in Durban as well for the ICC gathering. According to his statement, Shah and Ashraf scheduled a meeting to finalize the Asia Cup’s schedule. The tournament, co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka under a “hybrid model” from August 31 to September 17, was the focus of their discussion.
The official declared, “Our secretary, Zaka Ashraf, met with the PCB head, and they finalized the Asia Cup schedule, which is on track as previously discussed.”
“There will be four games at the league stage in Pakistan, followed by nine games in Sri Lanka, including both India vs. Pakistan games and a third game if both teams play the final,” he stated.