The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has left it up to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to convince the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to send its team to Pakistan for the upcoming Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in the first quarter of next year. According to a PCB source, while the budget for the Champions Trophy was approved at the recent ICC meetings in Colombo, the schedule and format didn’t come up for discussion at all.
“The PCB now has done what was required of it as hosts of the Champions Trophy. It has submitted the draft schedule and format for the event and also submitted budget for the event,” a PCB insider said.
“It is now up to the ICC how soon they circulate, discuss and finalise the schedule of the Champions Trophy. The PCB for its part in the draft schedule has suggested hosting all of India’s games in Lahore including a semi-final (if India qualifies) and final,” he added.
Another source said that the PCB has already submitted all details in its expression of interest document with the ICC as hosts of the Champions Trophy.
“The PCB for its part has given in writing to the ICC about the tax modalities, venue selections and clearance from its government for the Indian team to be hosted in Pakistan for the mega event,” he noted.
The PCB had initially submitted its expression of interest in hosting the event back in 2021 during the tenure of Ehsan Mani as Chairman of the board.
The ICC awarded hosting rights in 2022 and later on when Ramiz Raja was PCB Chairman, the board submitted its final documentation for the host agreement to sign with the ICC.
The source revealed that the PCB chief, Mohsin Naqvi, didn’t have any formal meeting with the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, or any other BCCI officials on the sidelines of the ICC meetings but the exchanges between Naqvi and Shah were cordial during the meetings.
The PCB has now left it up to the ICC to finalise and announce the tournament schedule and also get confirmation from the BCCI whether the Indian team will travel to Pakistan.
The ICC has kept supplementary expenses in its tournament budget to meet any situation where the Indian team has to play its matches outside Pakistan.
The BCCI has always steadfastly maintained that playing cricket in Pakistan is completely a government call and even the 2023 ODI Asia Cup, which was hosted by PCB, witnessed India playing all its games in Sri Lanka based on a ‘Hybrid Model’.
According to the draft schedule, all of India’s games including a possible semi-final and final have been scheduled in Lahore. The India vs Pakistan marquee match has been scheduled for March 1.
