The Board of the International Cricket Council (ICC) will hold a virtual (online) meeting on November 29 to finalize the schedule of the Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan in February-March next year. There has already been a delay in announcing the schedule of the tournament. The reason for the delay is India’s refusal to play in Pakistan given the strained relations between the two countries. India has not toured Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wants the tournament to be played in a hybrid model in which India’s matches are organized in a third country. India’s choice is UAE. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet agreed on this.
“The ICC Board will meet on November 29 to discuss the schedule of the Champions Trophy,” an ICC spokesperson told PTI on Tuesday. This important virtual meeting is taking place two days before BCCI Secretary Jay Shah takes charge as ICC President on December 1. He and other board members will be eager to resolve the matter before the new officials take office.
With the impasse over the venue and venue not being broken, questions are being raised on the current ICC officials including Chairman Greg Barclay and CEO Geoff Allardyce as to why they did not resolve the issue earlier and left it for the last minute. The Government of India has taken a tough stance and maintained the status quo, hence organizing the Champions Trophy under the hybrid model seems to be the most practical option. In such a situation, India’s competition will be outside Pakistan.
Sources have said that if the PCB agrees to the hybrid model, it will be offered financial incentives in addition to the hosting fee of $70 million. This type of model was adopted last year when India played its Asia Cup matches in Sri Lanka while Pakistan hosted four group matches.
The PCB has spent millions of dollars on renovating stadiums in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore. The Champions Trophy will be the first ICC competition to be held in the country since the World Cup co-hosted by Pakistan in 1996. Pakistan, which was deprived of hosting international matches for years due to the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009, has recently hosted big teams including England and Australia in its country.
ICC had given Pakistan the opportunity to host the Champions Trophy in 2021, hence there is constant pressure from fans on PCB to organize all the matches in the country. PCB has also threatened that if India does not come to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, then it will also not send its national team there for future ICC competitions.
Pakistan toured India last year for the ODI World Cup and this was the team’s first tour of India in seven years. India and Pakistan play each other only in ICC competitions and Asia Cup.
