The International Cricket Council has reportedly reached a consensus to conduct next year’s Champions Trophy in a hybrid model, allowing India to play its share of matches in Dubai, while agreeing “in principle” to a similar arrangement for Pakistan at ICC events hosted by India till 2027.
Such an arrangement would allow India and Pakistan to play their games at ICC tournaments being hosted by the other at a neutral venue.
For the record, in the ICC’s current commercial cycle (2024-27), there are three global events scheduled to be hosted in either country: the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next February, the women’s ODI World Cup in India later in 2025, and the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026 co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
PTI, quoting a top ICC source reports that the decision was more or less finalised during an informal meeting between new president Jay Shah and the board of directors at its headquarters in Dubai on Thursday evening after a planned afternoon meeting was postponed.
Per ESPNcricinfo, the PCB’s acceptance of a hybrid model for the eight-team Champions Trophy are also said to centre around compensation for a potential loss of commercial revenue from India’s Champions Trophy games being played at a separate overseas venue. If India were to make it to the knockout stages, then at least one semi-final and potentially the final are likely to be played outside Pakistan. The UAE and Sri Lanka are among the frontrunners for this.
Despite the progress, the PCB has stressed the need for written guarantees from the ICC. “The PCB wants assurance from the ICC, not the BCCI, that the hybrid model will be implemented without issues,” Pakistani daily The News quotes a source close to the negotiations as having said. “Everything must be documented to avoid future complications.”
There is likely to be more back and forth between the two boards and the ICC on the matter, with the final call likely to be taken at the board meeting on Saturday.
It is also expected that Saturday’s board meeting will clear the decks for the release of the Champions Trophy schedule, which has been long awaited by fans and broadcaster Star Sports.
PCB has planned for a February 19 start to the Champions Trophy, with Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi as the host cities.
