ICC Meeting on Champions Trophy 2025: Where will the Champions Trophy be held and when will the schedule of the tournament be revealed? Answers to all these questions could have been found after the ICC meeting to be held on Friday, but the news is that this meeting has been postponed. India has refused to go to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy and the Pakistan Cricket Board is not ready to conduct the tournament in the hybrid model. In such a situation, there is a deadlock regarding the Champions Trophy. Let us tell you, the Indian team has not toured Pakistan since 2008. The last bilateral series between the two countries took place in 2012, when Pakistan toured India.
The ICC meeting to be held virtually on Friday was likely to be attended by 12 ICC full member countries, three associate countries, one independent director and the ICC Chairman and CEO. Meanwhile, a report by news agency PTI said that the emergency meeting of the International Cricket Council’s Executive Board failed to reach a consensus on the schedule of the much-awaited Champions Trophy and the meeting will be held again on Saturday, as Pakistan once again refused to host the event. The ‘hybrid’ model for hosting has been rejected.
Despite the Indian team not getting approval from its government to tour Pakistan, the ‘hybrid model’ is not acceptable to Pakistan. According to the hybrid model, the Indian team would have played its matches of the competition at some other venue.
“The Executive Board met briefly today. All parties are working towards a positive solution for the Champions Trophy to be held in 2025. The Board is expected to meet again on Saturday,” an official and board member from a full-time ICC member country told PTI. “Will hold a meeting with and will continue until a solution is found.”
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Naqvi personally participated in this meeting. He is in Dubai since Thursday to present Pakistan’s side. Cricket Board of India (BCCI) Secretary Jai Shah attended the meeting online. Shah will take over as ICC chairman on December 1.
According to a report in Indian Express, ICC may present two plans before the panel. The first plan is to have India’s three group stage games, a semi-final and the final held in a neutral country – with the UAE likely to be preferred as it is close to Pakistan (allowing other teams to travel from the country). Commuting becomes easier.
The second plan is that if the Indian cricket team does not qualify for the knockouts, then both the semi-finals and the final should be played in Pakistan. Voting may also take place among member boards. The majority decision will be final and then the PCB will have to decide its path. According to reports, the 19-day window for the tournament is from February 19 to March 9. Pakistan has the rights to host the Champions Trophy 2025 and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is adamant on hosting the tournament in its entirety.
