NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board had a brief virtual meeting today and the members will soon be taking a call on the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy. It’s reliably learnt that during the meeting, which lasted a little over 15 minutes, all members aligned with India’s decision of not travelling to Pakistan for the multi-nation event next year.
“All members are aware of India’s stance and aligned with their decision of not travelling to Pakistan due to no clearance from the government,” says an ICC official aware of developments.
It is further understood that there are currently only two options on ICC Board‘s table:
* The tournament is played in a hybrid model where all matches involving India are played at a neutral venue
* The entire tournament is moved out of Pakistan and Pakistan Cricket Board retains the hosting rights
The Board is likely to reconvene in the next few days to decide on the way forward and end the impasse. The global cricket body has already missed the deadline of announcing the fixtures 100 days before the start of the tournament, and would now hope that a resolution is reached over the weekend.
PCB has so far maintained its stance of opposing the hybrid model but there could be a change there when the Board meets again. In case they threaten to pull out or not accept the hybrid model, there is a bright possibility of the tournament moving out of Pakistan and even going ahead without Pakistan.
“At this stage, don’t be surprised if the tournament is played out of Pakistan, and even without Pakistan. If PCB doesn’t accept the hybrid model, there is a bright possibility of that happening too,” adds the official.
It remains to be seen how the PCB reacts now but at this stage, it’s either hybrid or the tournament completely moves out of Pakistan.
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