Dubai: Pushed to a corner, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was left with no option but to accept the hybrid model if it was to remain hosts of the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Having insisted for weeks that all matches would be held in Pakistan, PCB was told by International Cricket Council (ICC) that it wouldn’t be possible as India won’t be travelling across the border. So India’s league matches as well as knockouts (semifinal and final, if they make it) will have to be scheduled at a neutral venue.
Asked if PCB had relented from its demand of staging all matches in Pakistan, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi gave a defensive reply.
“Everyone wants a win-win situation… We will do what’s best for cricket… but with respect and honour,” Naqvi told reporters in Dubai.
Pakistan, however, have set certain conditions in accepting the hybrid model, PTI reported quoting a PCB source.
The conditions are:
* All matches of the Indian team, including semifinal and final (if they qualify) will take place in Dubai, UAE.
* If India fail to progress beyond the group stages of the competition, Pakistan will host both semifinals and final in Lahore.
* When India host any ICC event hereon, Pakistan will be playing their matches in neutral venues.
Four ICC events are lined up in India in the next six-seven years — 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup, 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, 2029 Men’s Champions Trophy and 2031 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in February and March, 2025. Though the ICC has not yet released the tournament schedule, it is expected to agree to Pakistan’s Dubai proposal. Hence, the much-awaited India versus Pakistan clash should be held in Dubai.
