KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday called a board meeting on November 29 (Friday) to discuss the future of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place in Pakistan in February-March next year.
The board meeting will try and find a solution to the deadlock between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the Indian government had denied permission to its national team to visit Pakistan.
According to The Times of India, both the BCCI and the PCB officials will be in attendance for the meeting that will be taking place online, and the ICC is likely to make a final decision on the fate of the tournament.
All board members have been provided with the agenda, an ICC spokesperson confirmed.
According to media reports, the board meeting will discuss the future of the tournament following India’s refusal to tour Pakistan for the tournament.
The ICC board members will discuss various options including adopting a hybrid model, relocating the event entirely, or postponing the tournament, as per media reports. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already voiced its strong opposition to this approach.
The ICC Board will make a final decision after considering feedback and recommendations from its members during the meeting.
The board comprises 12 full members, three associate members, and one independent director.
The ICC had officially demanded a written explanation from BCCI over its refusal after the PCB requested the ICC to provide a copy of India’s written response regarding the decision against attending the mega-cricket tournament.
Apart from the PCB’s stance, the refusal of broadcasters and commercial partners to accept a schedule that does not feature a Pakistan-India match — which brings significant eyes and therefore generates valuable revenue — has also added to the ICC’s woes.
Furthermore, they also had warned of legal action if the tournament does not include a contest between the arch-rivals.
It is pertinent to mention that in recent years, the ICC has made sure that India play Pakistan at least once in each of the global cricketing events, ensuring a major chunk of revenue from this game.
The match between arch-rivals at the 2023 World Cup drew unprecedented interest, with 173 million viewers on Indian TV and 225 million digital viewers.
The ICC, which secured $3.2 billion from broadcast rights for the 2024-2027 cycle and anticipates $1 billion more in other revenue, relies heavily on marquee events featuring Pakistan and India.
It is to be noted that India have not played an international match in Pakistan since 2008. Last year, the BCCI declined to send a team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, leading to a hybrid format with later stages held in Sri Lanka.
However, Pakistan did visit India soon after for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
