Ahead of World Cup, Najam Sethi to meet ICC, ACC officials in Dubai

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi will embark on a visit to Dubai on Sunday (tomorrow), where he is expected to hold important meetings with the officials of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) ahead of the upcoming World Cup — scheduled to be played in October this year in India.

It must be noted that in October last year, Pakistani cricket authorities hinted they may pull out of next year's World Cup in India after officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India said they would not send a team to the Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan.

The PCB's top official will present Pakistan’s point of view on the upcoming events, including the Asia Cup, ICC World Cup and Champions Trophy, sources said.

After staying in Dubai for three days, Sethi will then travel to England where his meetings are already scheduled, the sources said. Over there, Sethi will be visiting the Biomechanics lab at Loughborough University.

PCB is likely to sign an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the University of Loughborough.

Pak-India clash

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is set to host the much-anticipated India vs Pakistan match in the ICC 50-over World Cup this October-November.

This will be the first time the two arch-rivals face each other on Indian soil since 2016. With a seating capacity of 100,000, the stadium is the largest in India and has been selected in anticipation of a large number of fans expected to travel from abroad for the fixture.

The BCCI is set to announce the World Cup schedule at a grand launch once the Indian Premier League (IPL) concludes. The tournament is set to kick off in October, with venues in Nagpur, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Rajkot, Indore, Bengaluru, and Dharamshala shortlisted for matches.

However, only seven venues will host India's league matches, with Ahmedabad being the only venue where India could play two matches, provided the team makes it to the final. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Bangladesh could play most of their matches in Chennai, Bengaluru, Guwahati, and Kolkata, respectively.