Although discussions are ongoing and the situation remains fluid, ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB presented its proposal over the weekend in meetings with the ICC and the BCCI in Dubai. In it, they called for an equitable, long-term agreement, extending beyond the 2025 Champions Trophy, with reciprocal provisions for Pakistan to play outside India during global events held there. It is yet to be decided whether these provisions are for the next three years or until the end of the current rights cycle in 2031.
“A unilateral agreement is no longer acceptable. It cannot be that we continue to go to India and they do not visit Pakistan. Whatever happens must be on the basis of equality.”
While the BCCI remains tight-lipped, there are indications that it might not be willing to accept the adoption of a hybrid model for its tournaments. In any case, the ICC Board will reconvene and examine the PCB proposal before taking a final decision on the Champions Trophy. And both the PCB and the BCCI will need their individual governments to ratify that decision. The ICC has tentatively set December 5 as the date for that meeting.
The options on the table for the tournament remain the same as when the board met briefly last week; Otherwise, the tournament will be based on a hybrid model with India playing its games outside Pakistan; that the entire tournament be held in another country; or that the tournament will be held without India.
In that meeting last week, it was decided to give the PCB time to hold separate negotiations with the BCCI to find a solution after the latter told the ICC that the Indian government had denied permission to the Indian team to travel to Pakistan. . Last Friday, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said “security concerns” meant India was unwilling to travel. “The BCCI has issued a statement, so I refer to it,” the spokesperson said during a press conference. “They have said that there are security concerns there and hence the team is unlikely to go there. Please refer to the statement issued by the BCCI.”
The BCCI has not publicly issued any such statement. The PCB says it is yet to receive an official explanation mentioning the reasons for India’s inability to travel, although it has sought one since the time the BCCI informed the ICC.
Jay Shah to chair ICC meeting on December 5
The meeting is widely believed to take place at the Champions Trophy, although there was also a suggestion that it could be a courtesy visit for Shah to confirm his mandate.
With time running out (there are only 77 days left until the event’s start date), the ICC is in a hurry. It has not yet released the tournament schedule (it is typically released 100 days after the event) nor has it announced the ticket sales process that would make it easier for fans to make travel arrangements for the eight-team event.
Additional reporting by Danyal Rasool and Firdose Moonda
