ICC Champions Trophy: Future tense as Pakistan refuses hybrid model this time

It seems future tense for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the elite eight-nation ODI tournament scheduled to be held in Pakistan in February-March next year. The official communication from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) about not travelling to Pakistan following the Indian government’s diktat on the ‘safety and security’ of players is expected, but it has not gone down well with hosts Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Well placed sources in the PCB confirmed on Monday that the Pakistan government has backed the board’s demand on principle that their national cricket team should not henceforth engage with India in cricketing ties at any level, including the 2026 World T20 scheduled in India.

‘’The PCB had forwarded the ICC (International Cricket Council) mail about India’s decision to the government for further advice and are now sending a strongly worded response to the ICC. They feel the hybrid model (in which India plays its matches at a neutral venue like Dubai while the rest of the tournament stays in Pakistan) is not acceptable. The response will also demand that should India not travel to Pakistan, their matches should be treated as forfeited and points awarded to respective rivals,’’ the sources revealed.

India hasn’t toured Pakistan since 2008 when the team led by M.S. Dhoni played the Asia Cup. There have been no bilateral cricketing ties between the two countries since the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, with the exception of a white-ball series with Pakistan visiting India in 2012-13. Pakistan has, however, crossed the border to play the ICC World Cups in 2011 and 2023 and the T20 World Cup in 2016, while the Asia Cups have been held at neutral venues in the interim.

Incidentally, India had all along maintained its stance about not allowing its cricket team to visit Pakistan. The PCB, in the draft fixtures for the event to be held from 19 February to 9 March 2025, scheduled all three of India’s group matches in Lahore and presented it to the ICC for ratification. The BCCI, on its part, has insisted on the hybrid model.

The air of uncertainty over the tournament, which could be the first ICC event in Pakistan since it co-hosted the 1996 World Cup, took a spin in the media when the world governing body of the game cancelled a scheduled 100-day countdown event in Lahore on Monday.

‘’The ICC took the decision because of the heavy smog in the city affecting flight schedules for overseas visitors, but this has nothing to do with the status of the tournament. All arrangements for the event were in place at the Lahore fort,’’ the sources clarified.

Best hospitality: Inzy

Meanwhile, former Pakistan greats have been vocal about India’s decision to not tour Pakistan this time. Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said: “They are depriving cricket of such a big occasion. There is no threat to the Indian team in Pakistan. In fact, they will get the best hospitality here.”

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, meanwhile, termed India’s decision unacceptable. “Enough is enough. When all teams are playing in Pakistan without any problem, this decision by India is purely political and that should be unacceptable in all sports including cricket,”  Latif was quoted as saying by PTI.