The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has started preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. They have the hosting rights for the competitions and preparations are currently in full swing.
According to media reports, the PCB has already sent the first draft of the Champions Trophy schedule to the ICC. They have suggested Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi as three venues for the marquee event. The upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in February and March next year.
“We have sent the schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan. The ICC security team came and we had a very good meeting. You have looked at the agreements here and we will also share with you the stadium modernization plans. We” “We are in constant contact with the ICC and are trying to ensure that we have a very good tournament in Pakistan.” PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi told the media last week.
Pakistan won the last edition of the Champions Trophy in 2017 by defeating India in the final in England. The ICC later scrapped the tournament before reinstating it in the new rights cycle (2023–27) and Pakistan acquired the hosting rights for the tournament.
It will be a special tournament for Pakistan as it is the first ICC event on Pakistani soil in almost decades. The last time Pakistan hosted an ICC tournament was in 1996 when the country co-hosted the ODI World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.
PCB wants India to play all matches at one venue:
While the PCB is making every effort to ensure the tournament runs smoothly, there are still major doubts about the competition being held entirely in Pakistan. The reason is their poor bilateral relations with India for political reasons. India has not visited Pakistan since 2008 and it is highly unlikely that India will do so next year.
Last year, the PCB had to switch to a hybrid model when hosting the Asia Cup. According to the model, some of the matches were played in Pakistan while most of the matches, including all of India’s matches, were played in Sri Lanka. While only time will tell how things pan out in the coming days, it looks like PCB is in no mood to let the Champions Trophy be played outside Pakistan.
According to Pakistani journalist Waheed Khan, the PCB has already asked the ICC to allocate all of India’s matches at a venue between Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
The @TheRealPCB has requested @ICC to split all India’s matches at one venue between Lahore, Karachi and Pindi: News courtesy @cricketbaazwk for @PTI_News
The only thing is that India leaves, which seems unlikely at the moment.#CricketTwitter— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) May 1, 2024
The BCCI has already made it clear that the decision to play a bilateral series with Pakistan or visit Pakistan depends on the Indian government. The BCCI needs to get the green light from the government before sending the team to Pakistan next year.