The International Cricket Council (ICC) is now looking to opt out of the entire venues in Pakistan for the full schedule of the Champions Trophy.
The BCCI are awaiting to give a green signal for India’s participation in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, while also awaiting indications from the central government of India over India’s travel to the neighbouring nation.
However, the ICC had already instructed PCB over shifting India’s matches to Lahore, which is the stadium nearest to the Indian border, though this never seems to be a very measurable security measure.
Now, the ICC has come forward with a new plan in action, as they have prepared a new hybrid 3 model for the Champions Trophy. ICC previously proposed the idea of either hosting the entire tournament in Pakistan or moving the semi-finals and finals to the grounds in Dubai if India makes it to the playoff games in the Champions Trophy.
However, the latest idea suggests that the entire Champions Trophy might be moved out of Pakistan either to Dubai, Sri Lanka, or South Africa, which might be the most likely model ahead for the BCCI.
If this fact of moving out from Pakistan to outside, this would not be great news for PCB as they would lose retain rights. For now, they might be preparing with idealism for all three options of the hybrid model.
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India has never featured in Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai blasts and even played the last bilateral series against the same opponent in 2013. Hence, compiling all, this has been a major question of whether the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side will participate in the upcoming Champions Trophy.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India clearly mentioned that India’s chances to play in Pakistan’s country would depend solely on permission from the Indian central government. With the BCCI’s decision still awaited over his visit to the Champions Trophy, the ICC suggested that all matches of India are to be scheduled at Lahore, as the area nears the border region.
The reports have suggested that if the Men in Blue qualify for the finals of the Champions Trophy, the ICC wants to keep all options open and is keeping Dubai as a possible venue for the finals.
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Latest reports have suggested, that sighting if India qualifies for the knockouts or the finals of the Champions Trophy, then they might consider moving the venue to Dubai. However, if the exact venue is not kept fixed, then both Dubai and Lahore might be kept ready, which is a rare account in the history of cricket tournaments.
Lastly, at the end of the Pakistan Cricket Board, they have shared optimism on BCCI favouring the Indian team to visit the neighbouring nation for the Champions Trophy, and hence scenarios are unpredictable for the next few months.