ICC representatives are going to Pakistan this month to review the preparations for the Champions trophy. They will also discuss the tournament’s unclear scheduling with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The Pakistan Cricket Board still needs to learn how many ICC officials will be traveling or what departments they work for, but they have been told that the plan will be discussed.
The Pakistan Cricket Board gave Rs12.80 billion to fix up the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the National Stadium in Karachi, and the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan and Bangladesh were supposed to play their first test match in Karachi, but the stadium was still being prepared, so the game had to be changed to Rawalpindi.
The delegation will check on how things are going at the competition sites. They will also meet with security officials and be in charge of the trip plan, team schedules, and broadcasting.
The tournament plan and the India ODI schedule will likely be made public later. Jay Shah, secretary of the BCCI, will likely become chair of the ICC on December 1. He will have a big say in how decisions are made.
“The board competing in the Champions Trophy has now seen the schedule. There is still some work to be done on it before it is made official.” A source told the media that the plan is still being thought over because the Indian government has not yet decided whether it will allow the Indian team to play in Pakistan.
The board had already given the ICC a rough plan for the Champions Trophy 2025, and they suggested that Lahore be the Indian cricket team’s home base.
India didn’t want to go to Pakistan for the Asia Cup last year, so their games were played in Colombo, Sri Lanka, while the rest of the event was held in Pakistan.
India’s participation in the Champion Trophy is still unknown because the country’s cricket board has not yet followed the rules set by the national government to decide on India’s participation.
In 2025, the top eight ranked One Day International (ODI) men’s national teams will compete in the ninth ICC Champions Trophy. The ICC Champions Trophy is a cricket event.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) will put it together. Pakistan will be responsible from February 19th to March 9th, 2025. Pakistan is the current winner, winning the last tournament in 2017.
Background of Champions Trophy
The ICC decided in 2016 that there would be no more Champions Trophy tournaments after the 2017 one. This meant that there would only be one big tournament for each type of international cricket. However, they said in November 2021 that the event would return in 2025.
The government agreed in December 2022 to build a new “high-tech” cricket stadium in Islamabad as one of the tournament sites. Ramiz Raja, who used to be the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board, was in charge of the project.
During the 2023 Cricket World Cup in November, top officials from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) met with the ICC Executive Board to ask for compensation if the Indian cricket team refused to come to Pakistan for the tournament because of safety and political concerns. They wanted the game to be held in a “hybrid model.”
Host selection for Champions Trophy 2025
Pakistan will host the ICC Champions Trophy in 2021. The news came out on November 16, 2021, during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. It will be the first global tournament Pakistan has hosted since the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009.
Pakistan’s last major tournament was the 1996 Cricket World Cup, which it co-hosted with India and Sri Lanka.
Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Geoff Allardice, recently said that moving the future Champions Trophy 2025, which is set to be held in Pakistan, is outside their plans. The big event will happen in February or March 2025.
Infrastructure Improvements
The Pakistan Cricket Board has even started building things in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi so they can be ready for the game. The venues are being brought up to world standards to prepare for the Champions Trophy games.
However, there have been many rumors that the event might be moved to somewhere other than Pakistan. This could happen because the Indian team won’t go to Pakistan for the event because of safety concerns and political tensions between the two countries.
Geoff Allardice recently spoke out against the stories and said that no teams have said they are worried about going to Pakistan. It’s important to note that Pakistan is the event’s defending champion. Under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s leadership, they beat India in the final in 2017.
The upcoming game is crucial for the PCB because it is the country’s first chance to host an ICC event since helping to host the World Cup in 1996. India, on the other hand, could be a real threat by joining. India last played in Pakistan in the 2008 Asia Cup, which is interesting. Relations between the two countries have also been frozen for a long time.
Rajeev Shukla’s Statement
Recently, Rajeev Shukla, the vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), stated that Team India’s journey to Pakistan depends on precisely what the Indian government informs them.
It’s important to note that the top eight teams, India, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, will all be in the Champions Trophy 2025. The next version will not have teams like Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
In a big announcement, ICC CEO Geoff Allardice stated that Pakistan will still host the Champions Trophy in 2025, even though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said they didn’t want to go to their neighboring country because of ongoing political tensions.
CEO Allardice reassures PCB about hosting rights
In an interview with the media, CEO Allardice clarified that the ICC has kept its mind and that Pakistan will hold the tournament as planned. Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore have all been announced as venues. India’s matches will only be held in Lahore.
Allardice also said that the other teams, besides India, have no problems playing in Pakistan and can’t wait to get there when the event starts on February 19, 2025. The show is going to end on March 9.
Teams qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025
The eight competing teams are Pakistan, India, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. However, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, two well-known cricketing countries, have not qualified for the 2025 tournament.
After Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, was recently named head of the ICC, there were worries about Pakistan’s ability to host a match. But Allardice’s statement puts those worries to rest.
Champions Trophy Venues Improvements
People are looking forward to the Champions Trophy 2025 because Pakistan is already working to improve its three host venues. They want to protect their title after beating India in the final to win the last tournament 2017.
India has said it doesn’t want to play in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which was supposed to take place in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9, but there are now significant problems.
The tournament was supposed to include top cricketing countries like Pakistan, the host and defending champions. However, India’s concerns have caused the International Cricket Council (ICC) to investigate the matter.
India has caused the ICC to consider other plans because of unspecified worries shared through the media instead of official routes.
The next ICC annual meeting will be held in Colombo from July 19–22, and this subject is likely to be the main topic. A hybrid model with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a co-host to deal with security and logistics problems will likely be discussed.
BCCI’s Final Decision
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awaits government approval. This normal process usually doesn’t lead to a written refusal but rather a removal at the last minute. There is a chance that this action could make the competition less fun. Because of this, the ICC is also considering setting aside money if the matches have to be held somewhere other than Pakistan.
During the Asia Cup, India’s unwillingness to go to Pakistan helped them get support from other cricket boards, such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This suggests that money affects the decision-making process.
One compromise being considered is holding all the games in Karachi to make it easier for people to move between Dubai and Pakistan. Major sites like Rawalpindi and Lahore are still on the table to ensure that everyone in Pakistan is adequately represented, even though these talks are ongoing. Pakistan is in a tough Group A with Bangladesh and New Zealand because of how the schedule is set up now.
Transport arrangements, like hired flights for teams, are being carefully planned. With the hybrid plan, however, Pakistan might miss out on the chance to host important games like the semi-finals or the final. The first game will occur at the National Stadium in Karachi, and the final will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Even with these problems, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its head, Mohsin Naqvi, are firmly against any plans that would make Pakistan less of the primary host. The PCB is getting ready to make this point very clear at the ICC meeting in Colombo, which will emphasize how important it is for the event to be held entirely in Pakistan.
