PCB chief says he’ll ‘make the very best determination for Pakistan’ on the ICC board assembly on November 29 to resolve the event’s destiny.
Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi says he’ll “make the very best determination for Pakistan” on the Worldwide Cricket Council’s (ICC) board meeting, which is anticipated to make a last name on the internet hosting rights for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Pakistan is about to host the eight-team males’s cricket event from February 19 to March 9, however India’s refusal to journey throughout the border has thrown the competitors’s logistics into disarray.
Naqvi has remained adamant that the PCB won’t settle for a “hybrid” mannequin, whereby all fixtures involving India are performed at a impartial venue, insisting that the total event should be performed in Pakistan.
“The Champions Trophy shall be held in Pakistan,” the PCB chief informed reporters on the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday.
“Our stance stays the identical: a hybrid mannequin won’t be accepted and we’ll do no matter is in the very best curiosity of Pakistan,” he stated.
Earlier this month, the Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) knowledgeable the ICC that its workforce won’t journey to Pakistan upon the directions of its authorities.
For a few years, India’s authorities has barred the nationwide cricket workforce from travelling to Pakistan due to ongoing political tensions between the neighbours.
India has not visited Pakistan since 2008, and the rivals play one another solely at multi-team occasions.
The deadlock has led to a conundrum for cricket’s governing physique, which is able to now name upon all board members to resolve the problem at a gathering on Friday.
The ICC is anticipated to current the PCB with the choice of internet hosting India’s matches within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or one other impartial venue, however Naqvi stated Pakistan “won’t promote out” and comply with financial compensation in return for accepting a hybrid mannequin.
“How can it’s [fair] that we all the time go to India to play cricket however [they] don’t come to Pakistan?” he stated.
“No matter occurs should be on equal phrases and now we have made our stance very clear to the ICC.”
The PCB earlier wrote to the ICC, asking for a replica of the BCCI’s considerations about travelling to Pakistan.
It has additionally sought recommendation from Pakistan’s authorities on tackling the problem, and Mohsin stated the board will do “no matter the federal government says”.
The Champions Trophy shall be Pakistan’s first skilled males’s ICC event since 1996, when it co-hosted the World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan hosted the six-team Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Asia Cup in 2023, however India’s matches had been performed in Sri Lanka after their authorities didn’t enable the workforce to journey to Pakistan.
