Due to India and BCCI’s refusal to send a team, Pakistan is in danger of losing the privilege of hosting a multi-team competition for the second time in a row—this time, the 2025 Champions Trophy. India decided not to play in the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan, the intended host nation, due to strained political relations between the two nations and serious security concerns. Later, Sri Lanka and Pakistan co-hosted the tournament, which was conducted under a hybrid format.
According to the most recent reports, Pakistan can experience the same outcome once more, depending on the BCCI’s decision. However, the competition would only be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or under the hybrid model, with Pakistan hosting non-Indian matches, if the Indian government and cricket board decide against sending the team to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf and COO Salman Naseer met with the ICC executive board in Ahmedabad to discuss the uncertainties surrounding the 2025 Champions Trophy destination, according to a report from the news agency PTI.
According to a source who spoke to PTI, “Pakistani officials discussed the likelihood that the Indian board (BCCI) would once again refuse to send its team to Pakistan and made it clear that the ICC must avoid taking unilateral decisions on the tournament.”
Top PCB executives maintain that no team has faced or complained about security issues during the two years that numerous elite teams, including Australia, New Zealand, and England, have toured Pakistan.
They went on to say that if India is adamant about raising security concerns, the ICC should designate a separate security agency that may communicate with Pakistan’s government and security personnel to evaluate the circumstances surrounding all of the participating teams, including India. “Many elite teams have visited Pakistan in the previous two years, according to PCB officials, with no security issues. They also stated unequivocally that the International Cricket Council (ICC) would have to reimburse Pakistan if India failed to send a squad and the matches were rescheduled to another nation, the source continued.