ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee, Najam Sethi, said on Monday the board would follow the government’s advice on whether to go to India for next year’s Cricket World Cup.

The quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament is scheduled to be hosted by India during October and November 2023 and will be the first time the competition is held entirely in the South Asian nation.

Last month, Pakistan’s then PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said his team would not travel to the neighboring country if India decided against attending the Asia Cup 2023 to be held in Pakistan. Pakistan and India are bitter political arch-rivals and cricket matches between the two countries are among the most intense sporting rivalries on the planet.

Speaking to media in Karachi, Sethi, who was appointed to head a new 14-member management committee of the PCB last week, said Pakistan and India’s cricket issues were beyond the board’s control and had always been decided by the government.

“We will obey whatever the government will suggest to us and we will seek the government’s advice when the time arrives,” he said. “As far as Asia Cup is concerned, I will go to the ACC [Asian Cricket Council] and see what the situation is … We’ll take a decision which is in the better interest of the game.”

Sethi said the PCB would not take “any step which can cause any isolation.”

The Sethi-headed new management committee has given 120 days by the government to restore department teams in the domestic setup and form a new board of governors. The government also repealed the PCB constitution and restored it to the 2014 position, aiming to bring back department teams. The current constitution, formed in 2019, did not recognize department teams.

The appointment of Sethi followed the Pakistan test team’s first 3-0 whitewash at home on Tuesday, inflicted by England.

New Zealand arrived on Thursday for two tests and three one-day internationals, starting with the first test today, Monday, in Karachi.

During Ramiz’s tenure, Pakistan reached the T20 World Cup final this year and the semifinals last year, and qualified for the final of the T20 Asia Cup. However, Pakistan didn’t fare well in test matches at home.