The BCCI has communicated to the ICC that due to advisory from the Indian government, the national team will not travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy. This means that the ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) must now rethink the arrangement of the event and a hybrid model may come into play.
In spite of PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s denial of any discussion about implementing a hybrid model, some months ago various contingency plans supposedly have been considered. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka have been shortlisted as possible secondary venues owing to their proximity to Pakistan.
Naqvi has expressed his insistence on written confirmation of BCCI’s decision and said that the PCB would need to discuss with the government before any ultimate verdict. Notably, he emphasized that acceptance of hybrid models was out of question for PCB. He cited PCB’s previous compromises such as participating in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India where India had declined to visit Pakistan for the previous Asia Cup.
The Champions Trophy will feature two groups of four teams each; Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa. However, the current developments may lead to postponement of the event schedule announced in Lahore next week.
Political tensions have resulted in India not visiting Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup, despite Pakistan participating in several ICC events in India, including the 2023 World Cup. The teams have only played a single bilateral series since then, hosted by Pakistan in 2012-13.
