The recent reports have made a shocking claim of how the refusal of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to occur from the third week of February and the second week of March, could shift the entire event outside Pakistan, who is currently the official host of the competition.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) discussed the dates and venues with the participating nations despite the speculations going on for its future. The reports also expressed that South Africa, whose summer generally ends towards the same period, could be a viable option to organize the event.
But if the reports of PTI are to be believed, then no such discussion happened in the International Cricket Council (ICC). The decision of India has led to the unsurprising decision of the board to hold the prestigious launch event of the prestigious ODI tournament, which was scheduled to be held in Lahore on November 11.
A few days ago, the BCCI sent an email to the ICC, which was later forwarded to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). They remarked that after discussions with the government, India has decided not to send their cricket team to the other side of the border due to security reasons. But the PCB has not agreed with it till now.
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They, in reply, have asked for a written confirmation from the BCCI on the actual reason for their inability to make the travel. They conveyed to the ICC that security is not an issue in the country that successfully hosted England, New Zealand, and Australia recently and promised the same for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.
They also are not prepared to accept the hybrid model, which the Rohit Sharma-led side used to play all of their games in Sri Lanka during the Asia Cup 2023. Despite being called the hosts for the event, the Babar Azam-led side flew to the Island to take on the Blue Brigade.
ICC cancels Champions Trophy 2025 launching event after refusal from India
The ICC has yet to respond to the PCB and was discussing the schedule with the participating team. The draft schedule has remarked that India has been given the option of playing all of their games at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, which will allow them to not make much travel in the country.
The reports have learned the chairman of PCB, Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the interior minister of the country, is not prepared to accept the hybrid model at any cost. South Africa is an option but still wasn’t talked about in any serious manner within the ICC, as the inside news claimed.
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The two countries, India and Pakistan, haven’t been engaged in a bilateral series since 2012, whereas the latter has come to this part of the world twice during the 2016 T20 World Cup and then the 2023 ODI World Cup. The runners-up from the last edition of the competition haven’t toured their neighbor since 2008 after the Mumbai terror attack.
Mohsin, however, believed that India should display a token gesture of coming to their country for the ICC event because of them going to India for the 50-over ICC tournament. Under 100 days left from the scheduled opening day of the competition, and it’s high time for the ICC to step into the matter and take the final verdict.
