The former captain of Pakistan, Shahid Afridi, has blamed the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) for the latter’s decision to refuse travel to Pakistan due to security concerns for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place from the second week of February to the third week of March.
A few weeks ago, the board members of India have already written to the ICC on their concern to make a trip to the neighboring country, which they have not visited since the 2008 Asia Cup. The Pakistan team was part of the bilateral series affair in 2012, which was the last as they kept on getting engaged only during the ICC tournaments.
In last year’s Asia Cup, the host country was officially Pakistan, but they were forced to obey the hybrid model and face India in Sri Lanka. Despite these issues, they flew to the land of Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Blue Brigade, to feature in the Men’s ODI World Cup.
Shahidi Afridi supports PCB’s decision to refuse India’s proposal of a hybrid model
The hybrid model proposal has also come from the Indian side, which will help them in playing their portion of the event in either Dubai or Sri Lanka. The members of the ICC are meeting on a Friday afternoon (November 29, 2024) to discuss their stance on the future of the event.
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Shahidi Afridi has accused the BCCI of mixing politics and sports as he supports the stance of the PCB regarding their refusal of the hybrid model for the upcoming event.
These options are likely to be considered in the meeting where the first of them being activating the hybrid model proposal. The second option is to shift the entire tournament outside Pakistan, with the third being to organize the event without the Indian side. The last two will have a negative impact, while the last option is expected to follow the least because of the financial stability the Blue Brigade brings to the table.
“By intertwining politics with sports, the BCCI has placed international cricket in a precarious position. Fully support the PCB’s stance against the hybrid model – especially since Pakistan (despite security concerns) has toured India five times, including a bilateral white-ball series, post-26/11. It’s time for the ICC and its Board of Directors to uphold fairness and assert their authority.” The former all-rounder of the Green Brigade has written on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).
Recently the unrest political situation in Islamabad has led the PCB to cancel their ongoing A-series against Sri Lanka and that could have an impact during their virtual discussion.
The reports claimed that on the eve of the ICC meeting, the Pakistan board already addressed the members to offer a near-acceptable model for the Champions Trophy 2025 to make smooth progress. They have also given the condition that if India fails to travel to Pakistan for the upcoming eight-team competition, then they will do the same for the 2026 T20 World Cup or the 2031 ODI World Cup.
The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the interior minister of the country, has shed light on taking the best step for their cricket, as they have already renovated the three grounds in the form of the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the National Stadium in Karachi and the Rawalpindi Stadium for the ICC event.