NEW DELHI: Pakistan is refusing to entertain the ‘Hybrid’ model of hosting the Champions Trophy next year, despite India’s refusal to play there. This puts the International Cricket Council in a difficult situation as its all-powerful board meets on Friday to finalize the long-awaited schedule.
It will be a virtual meeting. The PCB‘s uncompromising stance in refusing to accept the hybrid system and India’s decision to not send the squad to Pakistan have put the future of the major tournament in jeopardy.
“At this point, the hybrid format is the best option. We hope that all the parties involved will take a wise call for the sake of the tournament. It’s not good for the tournament to have it without India and Pakistan,” a source close to the development told PTI.
The ICC members are attempting to convince the PCB that the Champions Trophy will lose all of its luster and, more significantly, that there will be significant financial repercussions if India and Pakistan do not play.
Jio Star, the host broadcaster, has already expressed its disappointment at the delay in reaching a final schedule decision to the ICC top brass.
The governing body was supposed to provide it with the tournament schedule at least ninety days in advance, as per the agreement between the ICC and the broadcaster, but that time has already been missed.
In order to prevent the Men in Blue from visiting the neighboring country, will the members talk about the potential of splitting India and Pakistan into separate groups during the league round of the tournament?
“I don’t think the television rights holders will agree to that. They will demand an India vs Pakistan match in the group stage itself as an assured way to raise the profile and monetary income, and it will be a bonus if the teams then meet in the knockouts,” the source said.
“Even otherwise, if India enters the knockout stage, it will have to be taken out of Pakistan as BCCI has already made its stand clear. So, the discussion will be around the hybrid model.”
Since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which claimed over 150 lives, Indian cricket team has not visited Pakistan. The ICC has often said that it does not expect any member board to defy official advice, and the most recent travel ban has been attributed to security concerns.
Due to severe political protests in Islamabad, the Sri Lanka A team’s trip to Pakistan had to be shortened a few days ago.
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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, which is led by former captain and prime minister Imran Khan, is responsible for the unrest. Conflicts and acts of violence between demonstrators and security and law enforcement personnel have been documented.
The army was called in to put an end to the disturbances, according to PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the federal interior minister.
However, the PCB has not wavered in its commitment to hosting the Champions Trophy there.
“All I can assure is whatever happens in the meeting we will come out with good news and decisions which will be accepted by our people,” Naqvi told reporters at Karachi on Wednesday night.
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Therefore, the main goal of the ICC members will be to force PCB to adopt the “Hybrid” format, at least for the league stage, which is most likely to take place in the United Arab Emirates, and the knockout stages in Pakistan.
However, if India advances further in the competition, it may be necessary to move the knockout stages and the matches in which India competes back to the league matches’ location.
But what if the ICC chooses to move the Champions Trophy to a neutral location and the PCB stays inflexible and withdraws from the competition?
“It’s a very unlikely scenario. It can have very far reaching consequences for Pakistan cricket, which is not at its best in terms of financial health. India is set to host a few tournaments in the next couple of years.
“If Pakistan decides to boycott the Champions Trophy, then they will also have to boycott tournaments to be held in India, which in turn, can bring a lot of financial liabilities to PCB,” he added.
India are set to play host to the Asia Cup (2025), the women’s World Cup (2025) and the men’s T20 World Cup (2026), this event jointly with Sri Lanka.