"Mr. Sethi’s comments on a social media platform are baseless" - ACC responds to PCB Chairman's claims of Jay Shah taking decisions unilaterally

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has responded to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi's claim that Jay Shah unilaterally made the decisions regarding the board's plans for 2023 and 2024.

Yesterday evening (January 5), ACC President Jay Shah tweeted the schedule for the next two years. Details about Asia Cup, U-19 cricket, emerging players matches and women's cricket were thoroughly covered in the tweet.

PCB Chairman Najam Sethi was not happy with Shah's tweet as he cheekily asked him to share the details about Pakistan Super League (PSL) as well. Shah did not respond to Sethi on social media. However, the ACC issued a media release earlier today, that stated:

"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. The calendar was then communicated to all the participating members individually, including Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), via an email dated December 22nd, 2022."

The Asian Cricket Council went on to state that the PCB did not suggest any modifications to the calendar and added:

"In view of the above, Mr. Sethi’s comments on a social media platform are baseless and are vehemently denied by the ACC."

What did Najam Sethi say about Jay Shah?

As mentioned above, Najam Sethi did have a cheeky response to the Asian Cricket Council president Jay Shah when he tweeted the details about ACC's plans for 2023 and 2024.

The Asia Cup 2023 was supposed to take place in Pakistan but Shah previously stated that the tournament has been moved to the United Arab Emirates.

PCB officials have protested against this decision, saying that the president has unilaterally decided on the new venue without consulting the event hosts. It will be interesting to see what happens next as far as the Asia Cup 2023 venue is concerned.