Zaka Ashraf, a prospective PCB chairman, criticises the hybrid format for the 2023 Asia Cup

Zaka Ashraf, who is most likely to lead the Pakistan Cricket Board, has rejected the hybrid format for the Asia Cup in 2023. After interim head Najam Sethi said he would not be running for the permanent position, PCB is prepared to choose a new chairman. In the meanwhile, Ashraf made a shocking announcement on the location of the Asia Cup in 2023.
The next possible leader of PCB seems to still be concerned about the Asia Cup scandal. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) recently approved PCB’s bid to conduct the Asia Cup 2023 under a hybrid format and unveiled the tournament’s schedule and locations. The possible CEO now seems to back away from the first action.

The first is that I already rejected the hybrid approach (for the Asia Cup) since I did not agree with it in the past. We should host it, Ashraf remarked at a news conference on Wednesday in the Pakistani capital after the Asian Cricket Council’s board agreed it should be staged in Pakistan.

According to reports, however, BCCI may take a tough stance and Pakistan’s World Cup participation may be in jeopardy. The inability to modify the location at this time was also confirmed by an ACC member. “ACC has approved the Asia Cup model, and there won’t be any changes.”

A member of the ACC board told PTI that Ashraf was allowed to say anything he wanted.

Notably, Ashraf was chosen from among two candidates for the chairman position. The board’s patron-in-chief and person who has the last word in the nomination, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, is expected to choose the chairman. According to Ashraf, the big matches are staged outside of the original host nation, which is unfair for Pakistan.

All of the major matches will take place outside of Pakistan; teams like Nepal and Bhutan will play there, which is unfair to Pakistan. I don’t have access to the material, thus I am unaware of the board’s past decisions. “I will check, and whatever is doable in the shortest possible time, will do that for the betterment of Pakistan,” he added.

Following ACC’s approval of PCB’s hybrid model proposal, the tournament’s locations and schedule were made public on June 15. The Asia Cup 2023 will include premier teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal competing in a total of 13 thrilling one-day international matches, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said in a statement.