The fate of the Champions Trophy 2025 is in BCCI Secretary Jay Shah’s hands. This is what former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali alleges. The ICC event, for which the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is renovating their stadiums, may not be held in Pakistan. At least, not in its entirety. Similar to the Asia Cup 2023, which was supposed to be held completely in Pakistan, we might see the event held in a hybrid model.
CA & ECB bow down to BCCI
In a video, Basit alleged that powerplay boards like Cricket Australia (CA) and England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will do whatever BCCI and Jay Shah tell them to do. ‘They’ll wag their tails’ and do whatever the BCCI and Jay Shah ask them to do.
“There are 5-6 boards; they will talk with their tails wagging what Jay Shah will say. If he says the Champions Trophy will be in Pakistan, they’ll agree. If he says it’ll be a hybrid model, they’ll go with that too,” Basit said.
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IPL to blame for Champions Trophy’s relocation?
Basit further alleged that the ECB, CA, or NZC would do so because of the IPL. The league, which has become the biggest moneymaker in cricket, has forced the foreign board’s hands to do whatever the BCCI wants. The IPL not only fills the players’ pockets but also their boards. To ensure that this keeps happening, the boards will continue to listen to Jay Shah.
“It’s because when their players play in the IPL, BCCI pays their boards a huge amount, whether it’s the English board, New Zealand board, West Indies board, or Australia board,” he said.