PCB chief to replace Jay Shah as next Asian Cricket Council head
Why Jay Shah's rise as ICC Chairman could be bad news for Pakistan's ambition to host Champions Trophy
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi is all set to become the next Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief after current president Jay Shah's tenure gets over next year. The ACC has a rotation policy to select its chiefs and PCB is next in line for that.
The topic was also discussed in the recently concluded ACC meeting, where the hosts for the next two Asia Cups were also decided.
“When the ACC meets later this year, it will confirm that Naqvi will be the next president for a two-year term,” a source said about the next ACC chief, as reported by the news agency PTI.
“When Shah steps down the PCB chief will take over,” PTI further reported quoting the source.
As for the Asia Cup - the 2025 edition will be played in the T20 format in India as a precursor to the 2026 T20 World Cup, while the 2027 edition will be played in ODI format in Bangladesh, given the same format for the World Cup later that year.
It will surely be interesting to see if Pakistan also decides to play its matches in hybrid model instead of travelling to India for the Asia Cup next year.
In the 2023 edition, India had not travelled to the neighbouring country citing security reasons and its matches were played in Sri Lanka. BCCI secretary Jay Shah was the ACC chief last year and approved those changes.
Later that year, Pakistan travelled to India for the ODI World Cup despite early reluctance.
It is to be noted that Pakistan is also hosting the 2025 Champions Trophy, and reports of India's uncertainty over travelling to the host country aredoing the rounds in the media.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), meanwhile, has put aside supplementary funds for the tournament in case India has to play its matches outside Pakistan, reported the news agency PTI.
