India and Pakistan to play at neutral venue whenever either country hosts an ICC event in future.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) declared on Thursday that the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be held under the Hybrid format, putting an end to the tournament's long-running speculation. The CT 2025 will be held in Pakistan and in a neutral venue from February 19 to March 9.
With India's unwillingness to visit Pakistan because of security concerns, all Men in Blue matches will now be played at a neutral venue, according to cricket's global governing body. In return, Pakistan will also not travel to India for ICC events and play its matches at a neutral venue in the 2024-2027 cycle.
Meanwhile, Pakistan batter Ahmad Shahzad gave a bizarre idea to the ICC as a solution for the India v Pakistan matches in the future. He asked the ICC to host IND-PAK matches at a stadium on the border.
"I did a podcast where I suggested the idea of building a stadium by the border. One gate would be towards India, the other gate would be towards Pakistan. The players would come from the respective gates and play.
But even then, there would be issues for the BCCI and their government. When their players come to the field by our side, they would need visas which they would not get,” Shahzad said on Nadir Ali's podcast.
With the hybrid model confirmed for future ICC events, according to Shahzad, Pakistan passed up the opportunity to welcome India and has now closed the door on welcoming the neighbors anytime soon.
"Pakistan had a golden chance to host India. All cricket boards had signed the agreement in 2021 that Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy. ICC cannot back off. PCB has missed the chance, I think. We should forget that the Indian team will ever come to Pakistan now. Just forget it. The only way you could have brought India here was by an ICC event," Shahzad said.
Alongside India and Pakistan, the Champions Trophy will feature Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
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