PCB chairman Najam Sethi denies discussions over ODI World Cup

With the upcoming Asia Cup’s hosting row catching all the headlines recently, there have been several reports which claimed Pakistan could be playing their matches at the upcoming ODI World Cup at a neutral venue as well.

Reportedly, there have been several discussions at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that India could be playing their Asia Cup matches at a neutral venue due to the BCCI’s decision not to travel to Pakistan owing to political tensions between the two countries.

With the reports claiming that Pakistan will be playing their World Cup matches at a neutral venue, the chairman of the PCB, Najam Sethi, recently came forward to give some clarification on the matter. He opined that the ODI World Cup was not even discussed at the ICC Forum.

"At no stage during Thursday's media interaction did I give any reference to the ICC or made any remarks on the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, which is scheduled in October. This matter has not been mooted or discussed at any ICC forum so far," Sethi said in a press release.

No discussions regarding the World Cup have taken place with the ICC: PCB

It was made clear by Najam Sethi that the discussions at the ICC Forum were only regarding the upcoming Asia Cup, which will be hosted in Pakistan, and that there were no discussions over the ODI World Cup, which is scheduled for the latter stages of 2023.

"At this stage, the PCB is only in discussions with the ACC over the hosting of the ACC Asia Cup, and no discussions regarding the World Cup have taken place with the ICC," the PCB stated in the release.

With Sethi’s and the PCB’s denial over discussions about the ODI World Cup, it could be interesting to see how the situation pans out. It is likely that India could be playing their Asia Cup matches at a neutral venue, whereas the situation over Pakistan’s arrival in India for the World Cup still remains unclear.