Lahore: Pakistan may withdraw from next year’s ICC Champions Trophy in case the country was stripped of the tournament’s hosting right following India's refusal to travel across the border for it, a leading Pak media outlet said.
After the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) spokesperson’s confirmation on the same day, that the board had “received an email from the ICC, stating that the BCCI has informed them that their team will not travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025”, the matter has been forwarded “to the Government of Pakistan for their advice and guidance," Dawn said in a report quoting unnamed sources.
With PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi having ruled out the possibility of a “hybrid model” — under which India would play their matches at a neutral venue while the remaining tournament is played in Pakistan — the International Cricket Council (ICC) may propose shifting the tournament entirely to another country, the report said.
“In such a case, one of the options the government is mulling is that of asking the PCB to ensure Pakistan don’t participate in the Champions Trophy,” a source said, adding that the federal government was looking at the issue “seriously”, according to the report.
"Dawn understands that the government may go on to ask the PCB to refuse playing against India in any of the ICC or Asian Cricket Council tournaments until issues are resolved between India and Pakistan at the government level," the report said.
Amid political tensions between the two neighbours, the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has stood firm by the Indian government’s policy of not engaging with Pakistan in terms of bilateral cricket over the years.
However, after having played the last bilateral series against each other in 2012, Pakistan and India have competed in ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup. Pakistan, in fact, visited India to feature in the ICC World Cup last year.
