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The recent ICC meeting was unable to agree on hosting arrangements for the Champions Trophy 2025, and crucial issues were left unaddressed. The future of the tournament remains uncertain due to the inability to make a final decision despite continuous discussion.
The meeting, held online on Friday, attracted significant attention, particularly regarding whether the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the International Cricket Council (ICC) would find common ground on how the event should be hosted.
Meeting’s conclusion for Champions Trophy 2025
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When this meeting took place, Chairman of the PCB Mohsin Naqvi was in Dubai and found time to discuss other matters connected with cricket, such as Pakistan Under-19 defeating India recently.
But that issue was the 2025 Champions Trophy. Naqvi said that earlier while talking about the hybrid model to meet this challenge, he has insisted on it once again while speaking to media persons. He further elaborated that any solution that would come from Pakistan should be that of fairness and equity; according to him, there are more important things to worry about than the country’s prestige.
Naqvi asserted, “We will do what is best for cricket. If we adopt any other formula [other than hosting the tournament in Pakistan], it will be on the basis of equality. The most important thing for Pakistan is its honor; everything else comes after that.” Despite these clear remarks, the precise details of how such an arrangement might work remain unclear.
The PCB could be demanding certain concessions from it if it has to accept a hybrid model as Naqvi keeps referring to the term “parity” time and again. This might be one possible concession by India, that they may have to play their matches outside Pakistan so that the tournament could still go on in some form within Pakistan.
Alternatively, Pakistan could decide it will only play its remaining matches in India at matches held elsewhere in the subcontinent during future tournaments that come to India. This arrangement would also be mutual; there has also been an insistence on compensation for match losses on economic terms going forward.
However, Naqvi has already stated that the two sides won’t take economic advantages into account as a reason. According to sources, though a final decision on hosting the Champions Trophy 2025 could be taken in the coming days, the way to an agreement is not easy.
The remaining major hurdles include political and logistical issues that need approval from both the Indian and Pakistani governments. For now, one of the major obstructions is the fact that the Indian government has already rejected its cricket team from visiting Pakistan for the tournament.
Even the PCB made it quite obvious that any sort of decision or agreement must be sanctioned by the Pakistani government, either way. From the scenario prevailing at this moment, it is apparent that there could be some more time before resolving this issue.
Any proposal that would surface from the current deliberations is most likely to be bargained for and needs governmental clearance to be tabled for a final seal by the ICC.
Naqvi’s views indicate that while things are in motion, it’s very unlikely that things are likely to get sorted out right now. The next few days will be critical in determining how, or if, the tournament Champions Trophy 2025 can be hosted to the satisfaction of all the parties concerned.
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