Pakistan (Commonwealth) _After India declined to compete in the host country of Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to meet this week to decide the fate of the Champions Trophy 2025, an ICC spokesman said to the media on Tuesday.
The event’s future was in doubt when the ICC told the Pakistan Cricket Board earlier this month that India would not be visiting Pakistan for the eight-team competition.
The nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought three wars since the subcontinent’s division in 1947, frequently display their animosity on the cricket pitch. An ICC spokesperson in Dubai informed the media, without providing any details, that they could “reaffirm an ICC meeting on Friday” to discuss the matter.
The PCB, which insists that the entire schedule from February 19 to March 9 must take place on their soil, has already rejected proposals to allow India to play in a neutral third country.
The cricket body of India has not made any remarks regarding the competition. Bitter adversaries result from deteriorating political ties. For more than ten years, India and Pakistan have only faced each other in ICC multi-nation cricket competitions; they have not yet played a bilateral series.
Following a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009, teams declined to visit Pakistan, resulting in a years-long lack of home games. Only in 2020 did international play fully restart. When India hosted the Asia Cup last year, they played their games outside of Pakistan.
However, Pakistani cricket officials have dismissed security concerns for the Champions Trophy, citing their recent success in hosting elite teams like South Africa, England, and Australia.
Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy for the first time since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka. The ICC has set a board meeting for November 29 in an effort to get a firm answer about the venue and structure of the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Given that India is unwilling to visit Pakistan and that Pakistan is unwilling to compromise and embrace a hybrid paradigm, members will probably be asked to cast their votes on a solution that permits India to engage in their games in a second nation.
The ICC Board’s consensus-building process may lead to a final decision, as the international media is aware.
The ICC has not yet announced the dates or schedule for the eight-team ODI tournament window, which runs from February 19 to March. The ICC typically announces a global tournament’s schedule 100 days prior to the event.
The delay is due to the Indian government’s refusal to allow Rohit Sharma’s team to go to Pakistan. The Indian government communicated this decision to the ICC two weeks ago. The PCB responded to the ICC by raising several questions about the specific explanations provided by the BCCI, as well as the timing of their notification after securing the right to host the 2021 Champions Trophy. According to a PCB spokesperson, they have not heard back from the ICC yet.
Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, has proposed holding the tournament in Pakistan in three different cities: Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi. He said last week that he would be open to a conversation with the BCCI to break the deadlock. An ICC official confirmed the Friday meeting, but the PCB has not yet provided a statement.
In addition to the ICC chairman and CEO, the ICC Board consists of one independent director, three representatives from Associates, and representatives from the 12 Full Member countries. Greg Barclay, the current ICC chair, will step down at the meeting.
This is the final board meeting that Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary and a crucial player in the Champions Trophy case, will chair before he takes over on Sunday, December 1.
Naqvi, the PCB chairman and Pakistan’s interior minister, is also a key figure in the government of the nation. He has spent the previous few days in Islamabad seeking to put a stop to demonstrations organized by the PTI, the party of previous captain and the prime minister, Imran Khan.
The delay was caused by India declining to play in Pakistan due to the heated political climate and strained relations between the two nations. Since the horrific events in Mumbai in 2008, India has not made a trip to Pakistan.
Pakistan has not yet complied with the BCCI’s demand to host the tournament in a hybrid format, with India’s matches taking place in a third country, ideally the United Arab Emirates.
