Najam Sethi questions India’s decision amidst rain concerns for India-Pakistan Asia Cup match

Najam Sethi, former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has once again criticized the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for their decision not to relocate the India-Pakistan Super-4 match from Colombo to Hambantota, despite concerns about unfavorable weather conditions.

According to the recently confirmed Asia Cup Super venues, five out of six matches are scheduled to be held in Colombo. The weather forecast indicates that rain is expected in Colombo until September 20.

Najam Sethi took to the social media platform X to express his concerns, stating, “BCCI/ACC informed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today that they had decided to shift the next India-Pak match from Colombo to Hambantota because of rain forecasts. Within one hour they changed their mind and announced Colombo as the venue. What’s going on? Is India afraid to play and lose to Pakistan? Look at the rain forecast.”

Recently, the much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium had to be abandoned due to persistent rain on Saturday.

Sethi also shared images illustrating the differing weather conditions in the two cities, highlighting that Colombo has an 89% chance of rain on Sunday, while Hambantota has only a 12% chance.

Previously, the former PCB chief had accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ACC of monopolizing the scheduling of the Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka rather than in the UAE, despite knowing about the rainy season in Sri Lanka. Sethi suggested that the BCCI and ACC should have scheduled the tournament in the UAE after the BCCI decided not to travel to Pakistan for the tournament.

However, Jay Shah, BCCI’s secretary, rejected Sethi’s claims and cited “player’s health” as the primary reason for not scheduling the Asia Cup in the UAE.

-IANS