The BCCI informed the ICC this week of the Indian government’s decision not to allow India to travel to Pakistan. That decision was formally conveyed by the ICC to the PCB on Friday, which has now gone to their government for next steps.
“The ICC sent an email to the PCB informing them of BCCI’s inability to send its team to Pakistan,” a PCB spokesperson told Pakinomist. “No reason was given. There is nothing in writing we have received from the BCCI. The PCB has informed the federal government about the situation.”
The PCB has taken a more rigid stance on its hosting of the tournament – the first ICC event in the country since 1996 – with chairman Mohsin Naqvi very clearly ruling out a hybrid hosting model on Friday. One such model used in the 2023 Asia Cup hosted by Pakistan would see India play its matches outside Pakistan and all non-India games in Pakistan.
As Naqvi is the Interior Minister of Pakistan, this position can be taken as representative of the government in this matter. An official familiar with the situation said the Pakistan government will consider instructing the PCB to stand firm, reject the hybrid model and insist that the entire tournament be held in Pakistan. It would be a directive that the PCB would not be able to ignore the way the BCCI is unable to act against its own government’s directive.
It leaves the ICC, with 100 days to go until the start of the Champions Trophy, in a particularly difficult situation with simmering political issues between its two leading full members threatening to spill over – not surprising given that Naqvi’s BCCI counterpart , Jay Shah, is the son of Naqvi’s counterpart in the Indian government, Home Minister Amit Shah. The situation will not get any easier when Shah takes over as ICC chairman on December 1.
The rivalry between India and Pakistan is the marquee match of all global events and the organizers have long ensured that they meet at least once in every tournament since the 2013 Champions Trophy. It is regularly the match that draws the most eyes. But indications within this PCB administration are that their government may not allow Pakistan to travel to India for future ICC events – the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup being the next such event. On Friday, Naqvi had warned that “moves” made by Pakistan in the past might not be repeated: he referred to Pakistan traveling to India for the men’s ODI World Cup in 2023, just after India had refused to travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup.
Last month, ECB chief executive Richard Gould made it clear how important India and Pakistan both were to ICC events and the global cricket ecosystem. “If you play the Champions Trophy without India or Pakistan, the broadcasting rights are not there and we have to protect them,” he said on a visit to Pakistan during England’s Test series in the country.
An event in Lahore this week to launch the timetable and start the 100-day countdown has been postponed in light of the development. Instead, the PCB is expected to press the ICC this week to secure in writing from the BCCI the reason for its decision and on what specific grounds the Indian government is preventing its team from traveling. The ICC has been contacted for comment.
As of now, the eight-team event is scheduled to be played between February 19 and March 9 across Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. Stadiums at all three venues have been undergoing renovation and upgrading to varying degrees to be ready for the event. Pakistan are the defending champions after winning the event in 2017.
