New Delhi: Amid the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI)’s reluctance to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy next year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly asserted that the premier tournament won’t be played in a hybrid model. The 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan in February next year.
However, there are doubts over the Indian team travelling to Pakistan to participate in the tournament due to BCCI’s strict stance. India have not travelled to Pakistan since 2008 and the two nations have not played any bilateral cricket against each other since 2013. The bilateral ties between the two nations remain suspended due to strained political relations between the two countries.
India and Pakistan continue to meet only in major ICC events. With BCCI unlikely to agree to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, there have been calls for conducting the tournament in a hybrid model allowing the Men in Blue to play their matches at a neutral venue. However, PCB chief Naqvi has said that it’s the ICC’s responsibility to ensure India travel to Pakistan for the tournament.
As per a report in Pakistan’s Express News, “PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has made it clear to the ICC that Pakistan will host the 2025 Champions Trophy, and there will be no hybrid model. It’s ICC’s responsibility to bring India to Pakistan for the event, and not PCB’s task.”
Pakistan had the hosting rights for the Asia Cup 2023 last year but the tournament was played in a hybrid model after BCCI refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan. India played all their matches in Sri Lanka, including the final which they won to bag their seventh title.
Final decision expected in ICC’s Annual Conference
The final decision on whether the tournament will be played in a hybrid model or not is expected to be finalised in the ongoing ICC’s Annual Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The stakeholders will hold discussions with the BCCI representatives and take a call on the final venue for the tournament.
BCCI has made it clear that a decision to send the Indian team to Pakistan will depend on the clearance from the government. The Indian cricket board is likely to cite lack of government clearance when discussions take place regarding why India can’t travel to Pakistan for the mult-ntaion tournament.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly affirmed that there will be no hybrid model for Champions Trophy 2025 and that it is ICC’s responsibility to bring India to Pakistan for the premier tournament. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
