Pakistan Cricket Board Chair Najam Sethi said his predecessor spurned an offer by India to join the so-called "big three" during a major reorganization of the game's administration, according to the AFP. The PCB "was initially one of three countries which opposed the revamp" of the Int'l Cricket Council, which handed the majority of the powers and revenues to the "big three" of the game -- India, Australia and England. Sethi, who will attend the ICC meeting in Dubai on April 9-10, said that Pakistan was "offered a seat at the table but declined." Sethi said, "The big three of the ICC had invited Pakistan to be part of a 'big four' plan but the administration under former PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf refused the offer, to the detriment of the country." Reacting to the claims, Ashraf "confirmed an offer was floated at one stage but said it was never a firm commitment." Sethi: "They did offer us to join the group but when I went to attend the ICC meeting in February, India stepped back from its offer, claiming two other members of the body -- Australia and England -- are not ready to admit Pakistan as a fourth member" (AFP, 4/8). PAKISTAN TODAY reported Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif sacked Ashraf two days after the “big three” reforms were approved, reappointing Sethi, "who himself was suspended by Islamabad high court in January over alleged irregularities in his appointment" (PAKISTAN TODAY, 4/8).
