Here's Why PCB Is Unhappy With BCCI Secretary Jay Shah

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently voiced its dissatisfaction with Jay Shah, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), for announcing the Asia Cup 2023 schedule before the official ceremony organized by PCB. The premature revelation of the schedule has caused concern as it deviated from the agreed-upon plan. This article discusses the incident, the PCB's response, and the updated schedule for the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2023.

PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf with BCCI sectary Jay Shah. pic.twitter.com/uTWTJEzXMq

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“The PCB had a clear understanding with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) (that) it would release the schedule of the Asia Cup, five minutes after the ceremony started in Lahore. But unfortunately, half-an-hour before the ceremony started around 7.15pm, Jay Shah had announced it on social media.” source told PTI.

"The ACC's explanation was about misunderstandings over the time difference and all that, but the thing is, India is half-an-hour ahead of Pakistan time, so Jay Shah's announcement was a shock,” he added.

The issue arose when Jay Shah disclosed the Asia Cup 2023 schedule on social media, approximately half an hour before the scheduled official ceremony in Lahore. According to sources, the PCB and ACC had an understanding that the schedule would be released five minutes into the ceremony. The unexpected announcement by Jay Shah took the cricketing fraternity by surprise.

"It appears as if Jay Shah settled scores after the confusion and questions he had to face over, whether he had accepted an invitation from Zaka to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup matches which was widely circulated by Mazari and the PCB in the media,” the source concluded.

The ACC cited misunderstandings over the time difference as the reason behind the premature announcement. However, the time difference between India and Pakistan is only half an hour, making Jay Shah's explanation appear less plausible. This raised suspicions about the motive behind the early schedule revelation.

Speculations arose that Jay Shah's announcement may have been driven by past controversies. The source claimed that it seemed like Jay Shah wanted to settle scores following confusion and questions regarding his acceptance of an invitation to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup matches. This invitation had been widely circulated in the media by the PCB.

Asia Cup 2023 will now commence on August 30, one day earlier than initially planned. The opening match in Multan will witness Pakistan facing Nepal. The tournament will be played in the 50-overs format, featuring a total of 13 matches.

Group A consists of Pakistan, arch-rivals India, and Nepal, while Group B comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The top two teams from each group will proceed to the Super Four stage, where they will battle for a place in the final. The grand finale of the Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to take place on September 17 in Colombo.