‘This is one way to make sure we don’t come to India’: PCB Chairman comments on India-Pakistan World Cup clash in Ahmedabad

A report, earlier, this week revealed that Pakistan will play their pivotal match against India in the ODI World Cup at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. This news comes amid discussions about a hybrid model for the upcoming Asia Cup and with PCB chief Najam Sethi repeatedly emphasizing that it will set a precedent for the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

No better location in India could host a game of that scale, but PCB head Najam Sethi has openly confessed that he mocked Indian Cricket Board over the World Cup plan.

According to the Cricbuzz, on Sunday, October 15, India will play their opening World Cup match against five-time champion Australia in Chennai before facing Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After receiving full approval from all parties involved, the Indian Cricket Board will probably officially announce the World Cup schedule after the completion of the IPL, according to the article.

‘We are very friendly’: Najam Sethi

In an interview with Indian Express, Sethi responded to the story by criticizing BCCI and asserting that India is discreetly asking Pakistan not to attend the World Cup.

“When I heard that the Pakistan match was to be in Ahmedabad, I smiled and said to myself – ‘this is one way to make sure we don’t come to India’. I mean if you’d said Chennai or Kolkata, it might have made sense,” Najam Sethi was quoted as saying.

“I don’t want to go into the politics of it but certainly there seems to be a political angle to this because if there’s one city where we might have security issues, it’s Ahmedabad. And therefore, I think the less said about that, the better. It gave the impression that this was a red herring that was thrown in our way to tell us, ‘hey, we are going to play you in Ahmedabad and you watch out. You know who rules Ahmedabad,’” the PCB chairmam asserted.

“I get along famously with Jay Shah, we have no real issues, we’ve had long sessions. And we are very friendly. The only problem is that he never gives me a reason for not playing in Pakistan. He just smiles and says, ‘Well, you know how the situation is, so let’s not discuss this. Let’s find other solutions.’ And then we find other solutions and this is a solution I have found – the hybrid model – which I know is a compromise,” the 74-year-old stated.