Among the reported 19 beneficiaries are well-known figures such as Mubashir Luqman, Shahid Masood, Najam Sethi, Kamran Khan, Hamid Mir, Hassan Nisar, Mazhar Abbas, Meher Bukhari, Marvi Sirmed, Arshad Sharif, Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq Minhas.
Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi questioned the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on its decision to award the hosting rights of the Asia Cup to Sri Lanka as opposed to the UAE.
"Salaam everyone! I don't want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. Such instability and uncertainty is not good for PCB. Under the circumstances, I am not a candidate for Chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders," he tweeted.
"As far as India and Pakistan go, neither the PCB or the BCCI can take decisions. The respective governments only can take decisions," Sethi said during a press conference on Friday.
ACC on Thursday announced a hybrid model for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, with Pakistan set to host four matches out of 13, while the remaining nine games will be played in Sri Lanka.
Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, and Sethi met at his residence in Islamabad on June 7 to discuss the PCB's development during the previous five months. A few miles away, Ashraf met with Ehsan ur Rehman Mazari, the federal minister in charge of inter-provincial cooperation (IP
There were claims in Pakistan media that BCCI had agreed to PCB's hybrid model for the continental cricket event. This model meant that India's matches were held in neutral venues like United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or the United Kingdom (UK) or Bangladesh.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi has urged BCCI to take a "rational decision" to solve the crisis looming over his country's hosting of the Asia Cup, saying the situation should not lead to Pakistan boycotting the World Cup to be hosted by India
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah last year announced that the 2023 edition of the tournament will be held at a neutral venue, instead of Pakistan.