Former Sri Lankan cricketer Charith Senanayake criticised the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for scheduling a reserve day for the match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super Four. The rules can be amended, according to Charith Senanayake, who served as the chairman of the technical committee for the 2022 Asia Cup, provided all the participating teams agree to it.
The 60-year-old claimed that Pakistan will not have a chance to qualify if the upcoming Sri Lanka-Pakistan game is postponed since they are behind on net run rate and there is no reserve day, unlike the India-Pakistan match.
“Playing conditions are provided and made known to all teams prior to the tournament. After that, rules can only be altered with the agreement of all teams. Senanayake was quoted by The New Indian Express as saying, “If not, it’s unfair.
Theoretically, both teams will receive one point if the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game is postponed. In that case, Sri Lanka will advance while Pakistan will be eliminated based on the greater run rate. You don’t have an extra day or a reserve day, which is why. That is terribly regrettable. Therefore, the seeming PCB decision may have unintended consequences, he continued.
It seems that this is the only way the ACC is profitable: Charith Senanayake
Senanayake went on to say that if PCB asked for a reserve day, it would cast doubt on the competition’s integrity. The former cricketer claimed that because everyone wanted an India-Pakistan final, it appeared as though the games were manipulated. He also criticised the ACC, saying that the board was only doing this to make money, and expressed his surprise over how the groups were chosen.
“If that is the case (PCB requesting a reserve day), then the tournament’s veracity is much in doubt. It gets quite dubious. Games (draws) seem to have been rigged because everyone wanted an India-Pakistan final. There cannot be diverse rules for several boards.
“People frequently inquire as to how something occurs. I’ll start by saying that I have no idea how the groupings were created. Whether it was physically done or genuinely accomplished. But it certainly appears absurd. It seems that this is the only way the ACC is profitable. Everyone wants to get wealthy, the former cricket player continued.