The saga of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 continues, with sources stating Thursday that no consent has been reached regarding the proposed “hybrid” format which allows India to play their matches outside host country Pakistan.
India and Pakistan have been at two out of three wars since the creation of the countries after partition from the underbelly of subcontinent in 1947, and often that rivalry finds a reflection between its cricketers.
The eight-nation tournament, in short, ran aground last month when BCCI informed the ICC that it would not field its team in Pakistan for the said championship because of security and political tensions.
Anonymous sources told AFP that PCB has agreed to this hybrid model, but on the condition that all ICC tournaments taking place in India until in 2027 would have to abide by the same format – Pakistan not going to India.
Under this hybrid model, Pakistan will conduct the group matches, but the much-anticipated match against India will take place in Dubai.
And then the final will be either in Dubai or Lahore, depending on whether the Indian side makes it.
“But the BCCI were against the tit-for-tat condition that applied to its own hosting and the aforementioned when the final will take place in Lahore if India do not qualify,” sources said.
In order to finalize the arrangements, sources said that ‘PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is presently in Dubai, where the ICC has its headquarters.’
But this means that the ICC cannot announce the schedule for the event, which will run from February 19 to March 19.
The arch-rivals meet at ICC multi-national events only, with the last bilateral series held when Pakistan toured India in 2012-13.
The last time India toured Pakistan was during the 2008 Asia Cup, and for 18 years now, no bilateral series has been played across the border.
They were also subjected to a hybrid model and held last year’s Asia Cup in Pakistan, India’s matches and the final in Sri Lanka.
India will also co-host the next Twenty20 World Cup with Sri Lanka – in 2026, in addition to the Champions Trophy in 2029, and co-host the 2031 World Cup with Bangladesh.
In the past years, Pakistan has hosted the world’s top teams, stemming the tide of cricket isolation that began after a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009 in Lahore.
For the first time since the World Cup of 1996, in which India and Sri Lanka were joint hosts, Pakistan has not hosted an ICC event.
