Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi addressed the media today at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The talking point was regarding PCB’s preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy. The renovations of the three stadiums haven’t been done yet, and the squads haven’t been announced either.
Naqvi cleared the air around both topics. He revealed the dates by which two of the three stadiums will be ready. Furthermore, the cricket supremo confirmed that by the end of the day (January 31), Pakistan’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy will be out.
Invitations for Champions Trophy sent, says PCB Chief
Naqvi then switched topics. Before accepting questions from journalists, he said a word regarding the possible visit of officials from other cricket boards and the governing body. “We have invited all the cricket boards and ICC officials,” he told reporters in Lahore.
As expected, he has posed a question about whether the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The PCB Chairman answered by saying that BCCI has been invited just like all the other seven boards. He further added that an invitation to current ICC Chairman Jay Shah has been sent but said nothing on whether the BCCI or the ICC Chairman will come.
“We have sent an invitation to the Indian Board (BCCI) and the ICC Chairman (Jay Shah). Some of them plan to visit earlier, while others will probably come for the semifinals or final,” he added.
Will BCCI and ICC Chairman Jay Shah travel to Pakistan?
The big question now is: will the BCCI and ICC Chairman Jay Shah travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy? The BCCI may not have sent their team to Pakistan for the tournament, but President Roger Binny and vice-president Rajeev Shukla visited Pakistan back in 2023 during the Asia Cup. Therefore, BCCI could send officials to Pakistan and won’t have any issue sending them to Dubai anyway.
As for Jay Shah, the ICC headquarters are in Dubai, so in theory he could attend all of the matches played there. Naqvi had mentioned every board (ICC or any country) has different plans. No one really knows whether Jay Shah would travel to Pakistan for the opening ceremony or the final (if India doesn’t qualify).
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