The Pakistan Cricket Board has been in the hunt to host the Champions Trophy since 2021, as the grant for the same was provided by the ICC a year later, in 2022, when Ramiz Raja served as the PCB chief.
Recently, in the ICC meeting held in Colombo, which took insight over several concerns, one of them being the Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan next year. The ICC approved of PCB’s provided budget for the Champions Trophy, though concerns remain about India’s chances in the cup.
There have been serious concerns over whether India will travel to the neighboring rival nation for the ICC Champions Trophy. After the T20 World Cup triumph, posts on X and press statements from Jay Shah as well as skipper Rohit Sharma indicated that they find no concern in traveling to Pakistan. However, this created a severe stir in social media as fans raised concerns over player safety if team India traveled to Pakistan.
BCCI have also not nodded their heads in favor of the decision of the ICC or PCB. With player safety and several controversies between the two nations in the past, the BCCI is also in the middle of a tremendous dilemma.
ICC, in their approval of the budget, also left certain areas for a supplementary increase if India’s matches are to be held outside of Pakistan in other venues. However, raising concerns for the PCB is that if BCCI does not approve of India’s participation in the Champions Trophy, then it is likely that cricket boards like the ECB and Cricket Australia might also refrain from doing so.
Now, as a cricket board, the PCB has done all it had to as the host of a major tournament, from providing a schedule and also the budget to the ICC. They have also confirmed that their government would aid India’s safety, as they have kept all of the matches of India in the stadium of Karachi, even the matches if India makes it to the semis or the finals.
ALSO READ: IND vs SL: Sri Lanka announce T20I Squad; Charith Asalanka to lead a Star-studded squad
However, India, like the Asia Cup 2023, might participate in the Champions Trophy and play their games in hybrid conditions, just like they did while playing in Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup.
However, the PCB under Chief Mohsin Naqvi has now left the role of convincing the BCCI to participate over to the ICC. Neither the chief nor any other official was known to have had a formal word with either Jay Shah or any other BCCI official; as it was reported, all talks are made cordially.
With PCB having resolved all their concerns, now the ball is in ICC’s court, as they are to convince the BCCI and Jay Shah to send their team for a Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy, with chances remaining that they would rely only on BCCi agreeing to another hybrid setup for participation.
