The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to sign the Champions Trophy 2025 hosting rights agreements with it, stressing that the PCB should be compensated if India refuses to travel to the country.
ICC has marked Pakistan as the host for the Champions Trophy 2025 but is yet to sign the important hosting agreement with it.
A PCB source disclosed that PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf and COO Salman Naseer had met the ICC executive board in Ahmedabad to discuss the hosting of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February-March, 2025.
“Pakistani officials discussed the probability of the Indian board (BCCI) again refusing to send its team to Pakistan and made it clear that in any given situation the ICC must avoid taking unilateral decisions on the tournament,” the source told PTI.
According to the source, PCB officials informed the ICC that if India refuses to play in Pakistan due to security concerns, the global body should appoint an independent security agency.
The PCB also stated that it would work with the Pakistani government and security agencies to assess the security of the participating teams, including India.
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“The PCB officials said many top teams had toured Pakistan in the last two years without any security concerns. They also made it clear that in case of India not sending its team and its matches being moved to another country, then the ICC must compensate Pakistan for this,” the source added.
Furthermore, the report stated that PCB officials were clear that given the relationship between Pakistan and Indian governments, there was a high probability of India again backing out of playing in the country on security and political grounds.
Notably, India had refused to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023 and instead played all of its matches in Sri Lanka, including the final, while Pakistan hosted four matches in the country.
The source said Ashraf and Naseer were clear at the ICC meeting that Pakistan would not give up its hosting rights.
“The BCCI representative maintained that any call on India playing in Pakistan in 2025 would only be taken by their government and they were bound to follow the decision,” the source added.
(PTI inputs)
