Former Pakistan Cricket Board chair Najam Sethi has slammed the Asian Cricket Council for conducting the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka, after rain washed out the much-anticipated game between India and Pakistan in Pallekele.

Only one innings was possible in the third match of the ODI tournament: after India were bowled out for 266 in 48.5 overs, rain prevented the Pakistan team from starting their chase. There were a couple of stoppages in the Indian innings too, leaving the classic rivalry with a damp treatment.

Sethi served as the head of PCB’s interim committee from December 2022 to June this year. He was expected to be named the new chairman, but withdrew himself from the race a month later.

After the India-Pakistan game was washed out, Sethi, a frequent user of X (formerly Twitter), slammed the Asian Cricket Council for their poor scheduling of this Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, calling out the “politics over sport”.

“How disappointing! Rain mars the greatest contest in cricket. But this was forecast. As PCB Chair, I urged the ACC to play in UAE but poor excuses were made to accommodate Sri Lanka. Too hot in Dubai, they said. But it was as hot when the Asia Cup was played there last time in Sep 2022 or when IPL was played there in April 2014 and Sep 2020. Politics over sport. Unforgivable!”

The tournament was originally supposed to be held in Pakistan in 2022, but swapped hosting rights with Sri Lanka for the 2023 edition. However, India refused to travel to Pakistan, leading to several months of deadlock, with the tournament eventually scheduled to take place in a hybrid fashion, with four games in Pakistan, and the rest in Sri Lanka.

UAE emerged as a possible substitute venue during the deadlock, but August and September are supposed to be extremely hot months for the country. Last year’s Asia Cup was held in the UAE around the same window, but was played in the T20 format, with matches scheduled in the evening.

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