Pakistan board (PCB) is facing some heat from the ICC for their stubborn stance regarding the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 being played in a hybrid model after India refused to come to Pakistan. The ICC has warned Pakistan about its stance on this issue and might shift the tournament to a new venue.
Due to security concerns, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already been notified by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that the Indian team will not be attending the event in Pakistan.
From February 9 to March 19, Pakistan will host the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy event in three locations: Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. They had repeatedly put pressure on the BCCI and ICC to arrange for India to attend the event in Pakistan; they had even offered to host all of India’s matches in Lahore, which is close to the Amritsar border.
With the UAE at the forefront of the race, the BCCI has asked the ICC to host India’s matches at a different location. Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chief, did, however, affirm that Pakistan is not prepared to accept any hybrid model and that the competition will be completely in Pakistan.
ICC warns Pakistan about moving the Champions Trophy to South Africa if they don’t agree to a hybrid model
Not only this, the PCB has threatened the ICC of boycotting the Champions Trophy 2025 if the tournament is played in hybrid mode to please the BCCI and Indian teams. In addition to this, the PCB also stated that Pakistan will no longer play any ICC or ACC event matches against India, possibly hurting the global cricketing body’s finances in the future.
“Though the discussions over the fate of next year’s Champions Trophy are still at a preliminary stage, it has been reported that the ICC is already looking at South Africa as the potential host for the tournament. If Pakistan doesn’t agree to a hybrid model, the tournament could be taken elsewhere. Unless the PCB decides to pull out of hosting the Champions Trophy the current plan is to hold India’s matches in UAE and the final in Dubai,” a PTI quoted a source as saying on Monday.
“The Indian Cricket Board has told the ICC that a Hybrid Model is acceptable to them only if the final is held in Dubai and not in Pakistan,” the source further added.
Following the events and the BCCI’s requests, the ICC also presented the PCB with a generous offer.
“The ICC has told the PCB that if it decides to go ahead with the hosting of the mega event on a Hybrid Model it would get its full hosting fees and majority of the matches,” the source said.
While PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi is adamant on hosting the entirety of the tournament in Pakistan, he might have to rethink his stance as the ICC has warned Pakistan about moving the Champions Trophy to South Africa.
According to a report in Sports Tak, the ICC also warned PCB that if the board withdraws and rejects the hybrid model, the entire event could be moved to South Africa.
Amidst uncertainty over the hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the ICC canceled a key event in Lahore to announce the schedule for the tournament.
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