Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi has once more emphasized that the Champions Trophy would continue to take place in Pakistan and rejected the hybrid model, reaffirming his earlier stance. He further stated that if India has any issues, they should sit with the PCB to discuss them.
“Pakistan’s pride and honour is our priority. The event of Champions Trophy will be held in our country only, we will not agree on Hybrid Model. If there are any issues with India, they should come to us and we will resolve them,” Naqvi said while talking to the mediapersons outside the Gaddafi Stadium here. “We stick by our stance that we wouldn’t ever move to a hybrid model. We await the ICC releasing the schedule as soon as possible,” he added.
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Naqvi also appealed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to maintain its integrity as the world’s governing body of the sport. “The ICC needs to think about its credibility as it speaks for all cricketing bodies around the world. The schedule has been rescheduled, but we haven’t received any cancellation notice. Every other team in the world, that has qualified for the Champions Trophy, is ready to come and has no issue,” he said.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi's media talk at Gaddafi Stadium as he inspected the venue's upgradation pic.twitter.com/kW7yzH68aY
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 18, 2024
He reiterated his notion of never letting sports and politics mix up and added, “I still believe that sports and politics should not interfere with each other, and I maintain a positive outlook.” He asserted, “I think no one can give us a tough time. Every ICC member has its right, things cannot function like this. I am just hoping for a positive result when it comes to Champions Trophy.”
On November 16, the ICC launched the Champions Trophy tour in Islamabad, and the trophy will visit India between January 15 and 26.