The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is stuck in a major row over the last few weeks over India’s refusal to tour Pakistan. The hosts of the ICC tournament are Pakistan, who are refusing to accept a ‘hybrid’ model for the tournament without fulfilment of their own conditions.
Amid this major row, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar added fuel to fire by claiming that Indian cricket team are actually ‘dying’ to play in Pakistan and former India captain Virat Kohli was also ‘dying’ to play in Pakistan.
“India is dying more than Pakistan to play in Pakistan let me tell you right now. Virat Kohli is probably dying to play in Pakistan. I have been working in India and I know the truth. If India lands up in Pakistan, the TV sponsorship rights will go through the roof. They (India) are not coming that’s why sponsorship is not coming. Na aane ki wajah? Hukumat nahi chahti (Reason for not coming, the government doesn’t want),” Shoaib Akhtar told former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez on a TV show.
“Virat Kohli and BCCI dying to play in Pakistan.”
Shoaib Akhtar pic.twitter.com/r7RamVY2fT
— Abu Bakar Tarar (@abubakartarar_) December 4, 2024
Though discussions on the matter are ongoing and the situation stays fluid, according to a report on ESPNCricinfo website, the PCB put forward their proposal during last weekend’s meetings with ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Dubai. PCB was seeking a long-term agreement that would go beyond the 2025 CT, with provisions for Pakistan to play outside India during ICC tournaments. However, it is yet to be decided if such provisions are for the next three years or till 2031, which will mark the end of the current rights cycle
Till 2031, India is supposed to host three major men’s tournaments – the 2026 T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka in February, the 2029 ICC Champions Trophy in October and the 2031 ICC Cricket World Cup along with Bangladesh from October-November. In women’s cricket, they will host the 50-over women’s World Cup next year. The next Asia Cup, scheduled for October 2025, is also scheduled to be held in India.
Previously on Sunday, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said that, “We will do what’s best for cricket. It is definitely not a hybrid formula, but if a new formula is formed, it will be an equal one,” Naqvi told reporters, as quoted from a video posted by PCB media.
“A one-sided arrangement is no longer acceptable. It cannot be the case that we continue to go to India, but they do not visit Pakistan. Whatever happens must be on the basis of equality,” he added.
Though BCCI stays tight-lipped, there are indications that it would not accept a hybrid model for the tournaments hosted by the team. The ICC Board will reconvene and examine the proposal sent by the PCB before a final decision on the Champions Trophy is made. Both BCCI and PCB will require the final decision to be ratified by their country’s governments. ICC has tentatively pencilled on December 5 as a meeting date.
