Pakistan government has reportedly advised PCB to withdraw if CT 2025 moved out of Pakistan.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reported a threat of boycotting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 if India doesn’t come to Pakistan and the tournament is moved to a hybrid model, which might put them in hot soup with the global body of cricket administration.
Given the diplomatic issues between the two nearby nations, there have been worries over India's participation in the major event ever since the ICC gave the 2025 Champions Trophy to Pakistan.
The PCB is keen to host the Champions Trophy at any cost, whether or not India takes part, since hosting a major event for the first time in 1996. The PCB wants to demonstrate that Pakistan, which is frequently singled out for security concerns, is prepared to shed its "unsafe image."
This impression would be reinforced by hosting a significant tournament like the Champions Trophy almost thirty years later.
India's refusal to come to the neighboring country for the Champions Trophy next year appears to have put the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a difficult situation. In a letter to the host board on Sunday, the ICC confirmed that India would not be attending the eight-nation competition in Pakistan.
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi has already stated that Pakistan will not agree with a hybrid model for the Champions Trophy, that will see India playing its matches at a neutral venue.
As per Dawn news, the Pakistan government has reportedly advised PCB to withdraw from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in case ICC goes ahead with the hybrid model.
Now Cricbuzz has reported that, with India and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) making it clear that their team will not travel to Pakistan, only a few options remain for stakeholders - the ICC and the PCB.
The first being PCB agrees to a hybrid model and 5 of the 15 games of the tournament are played in UAE. The second option is that the Champions Trophy is moved out of Pakistan, which might lead to the PCB withdrawing its team. And the final option is that the tournament is postponed indefinitely.
However, each of the options has serious implications for PCB and the tournament, as without India's participation, the Champions Trophy - or any ICC event for that matter - would be a non-starter.
If the PCB withdraws the Pakistan team from the Champions Trophy, it could be subject to ICC sanctions, which could include significant ICC budget reductions. Furthermore, the PCB would lose out on approximately USD 65 million in hosting fees if the Champions Trophy were moved or postponed.
Given that significant investments were made to refurbish the infrastructure for the Champions Trophy at the three designated venues—Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore—this loss would be even more upsetting.
The PCB has written to the ICC to request clarifications after lengthy deliberations. There doesn't seem to be any reference to security concerns in the ICC-PCB correspondence over India's position, despite the PCB's repeated inquiries about it.
However, board chairman Mohsin Naqvi said in a press conference that his board had not received any official communication from the BCCI.
“We have a clear stance that they must give it to us in writing if they [the Indian cricket board] have any issues. Till today, we have not spoken about any hybrid model, but we’re ready to speak on this. Now, if Indian media is reporting this, then there must be some letter the ICC will give us, or the Indian Board might have written this somewhere. Till now, no such letter has reached me or the PCB," Naqvi told reporters in Lahore.