When the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) announced that the Indian cricket team wouldn’t travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025, everyone expected some sort of retaliation from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). They went to the International Cricket Council (ICC), but that wasn’t going to be all; everyone knew. So, the PCB reportedly threatened that they won’t send their men’s and women’s teams to India going forward for ICC events.
PCB vs BCCI
In the next two years, the BCCI are set to host two major events: the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 and the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The former would be hosted entirely in India, while Sri Lanka are the co-host along with India for the latter. This update comes just before the ICC’s meeting regarding the Champions Trophy 2025 schedule.
The stance has been made clear by the PCB. If Team India travels to Pakistan, they return the favour and participate in the two ICC events in India. However, if India doesn’t visit and they aren’t granted to host the event in a hybrid model, PCB won’t send their men’s and women’s teams for the events irrespective of where they are held.
“If it comes to that, Pakistan will play all their matches, including the high-profile clash with India, in Sri Lanka during the 2026 tournament. There is no way we will play in India if they don’t come here. The women’s ODI World Cup will take place in India next year and Pakistan will not travel. If a hybrid model is not possible, PCB has threatened to pull out,” a source told The Telegraph.
The Champions Trophy 2025 saga
For the unaware, PCB were granted the right to host the Champions Trophy in Pakistan back in 2021. They have even announced a proposed schedule for the event, which the ICC approved. They renovated their stadiums, spending over Rs 500 crore, but just months before the tournament started, India announced they wouldn’t travel, which meant that the 8-team tournament couldn’t likely be played in Pakistan.
The idea of a hybrid model was floated according to which Team India would play their matches in the UAE (Dubai most probably). The PCB fought against it, and the schedule announcement for the event kept on getting pushed back. Today, we’ll get the final verdict as all the boards talk with the ICC and decide Pakistan’s fate of hosting the Champions Trophy 2025.
