The International Cricket Council (ICC) held an emergency meeting on November 26 with the BCCI & PCB with a motto to take a final call on whether the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be held completely in Pakistan or the ‘Hybrid’ model.
Both the BCCI & PCB will be attending the meeting virtually with the ICC looking for a concrete solution over the tournament’s fate which is hanging at the moment following the delay in the announcement of the schedule by the ICC.
The tournament returned to competition after eight years, with the last edition played in 2017 in England with the defending champions being Pakistan. But the tournament’s return has already faced several setbacks with the tournament being played in Pakistan & the BCCI’s decision to not allow the Indian team to travel to Pakistan following security concerns.
Though the BCCI had approached ICC to hold India’s matches at a neutral venue with the tournament to be played in the form of a ‘Hybrid’ model, the PCB opposed the Hybrid Model. The Clash of views between both (BCCI & PCB) has led to the uncertain future of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Notably, The 2023 Asia Cup too was hosted by Pakistan but the tournament was staged in a ‘Hybrid Model’ with India playing its matches in Sri Lanka.
Though the dates of the tournament were announced earlier with the tournament set to be played from February 19 to March 9 at the three venues- Rawalpindi, Karachi & Lahore.
In the following meeting with the BCCI & PCB, The ICC will act as a mediator to find a concrete solution to the saga of the 2025 Champions trophy that satisfies both boards. The meeting agenda will include highlighting the key issues with India’s security concerns over traveling to Pakistan, Pakistan’s insistence on retaining the hosting rights & the potential venues in the ‘Hybrid’ Model.
The discussions on November 26 are expected to play a crucial role in addressing the tournament’s dilemma, with less than three months remaining for the tournament to begin.