Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy 2025.Image credit source: AFP
Will the Champions Trophy be held entirely in Pakistan? Will the ICC organize the tournament in Pakistan without the Indian team? Will Pakistan accept a hybrid model? Will the entire tournament be played in South Africa, taking hosting rights from Pakistan? In the last 3-4 days, all these questions have become a topic of discussion across the cricket world. There has been a huge uproar regarding the Champions Trophy ever since Team India refused to send it to Pakistan because Pakistan is also adamant on its position. In such a situation, the controversy is increasing and the ICC has not yet been able to take any decision. Even amidst all this chaos, the ICC spoke to the teams participating in the tournament. According to the report, this conversation occurred over the tournament schedule, which has not yet been released.
ICC discussed schedule
The news agency PTI reported in one of its reports that although the situation regarding the organization of the Champions League has not yet been clarified, the controversy still persists. Despite this, the ICC is holding talks with the teams participating in the tournament. These conversations are mainly about the tournament schedule. About 2-3 months ago, Pakistan had proposed a program on its part, in which all the matches of the Indian team would be held in Lahore, so that the Indian team would come to Pakistan and not have to worry about security. However, final approval of this schedule has not been given so far.
The report reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board sent an email to the ICC on Tuesday, November 12, demanding the Board of Control for Cricket in India to give concrete reasons for not sending Team India. . Apart from this, PCB has also said that they are not ready to organize the tournament outside Pakistan. Even the Pakistani board of directors has threatened that if they take away the venue, they will not participate in the tournament. ICC is yet to respond to this email but despite this, talks are continuing with other teams regarding the tournament schedule.
As per the rules, the ICC has to publish the schedule 100 days before the start of any tournament. In the current situation, it is difficult to say that this schedule will be available before 100 days because the ICC will try to resolve the matter before taking any decision. For this tournament to be successful and for ICC to make money, it is necessary for India and Pakistan to play in this tournament. Now the Indian team is not ready to go to Pakistan and Pakistan is not ready for hybrid mode.
There are currently no plans regarding South Africa
Some reports claimed that the ICC is planning to host the tournament in South Africa as a backup. That means if Pakistan is not prepared to host the event in hybrid mode, the entire Champions Trophy will be hosted in South Africa. However, in the PTI report citing ICC sources, it is said that such an issue has not been discussed so far. Currently, ICC is not planning to host the tournament in South Africa and hence there has been no discussion on this issue yet.
