The ICC Board meeting to decide the status of the Champions Trophy, a prestigious cricket tournament, finally took place after much waiting. There is still unrest despite Pakistan’s hosting rights because India is against crossing the border given Pakistan’s major security concern. The ICC had a meeting in order to resolve the matter, but it ended quickly since they were unable to come to an agreement.

ICC’s ultimatum to PCB: Accept ‘Hybrid Model’ or CT will happen without Pakistan

The International Cricket Council has told Pakistan to either accept the ‘Hybrid’ model of hosting for next year’s Champions Trophy or be prepared to be ousted from the event after the PCB’s adamant stand led to an inconclusive meeting of its executive board here on Friday.

The emergency meeting was meant to thrash out the schedule of the event in February-March next year but could not achieve a consensus after Pakistan once again rejected the ‘Hybrid’ model despite India’s firm refusal to travel there owing to security concerns.

It is understood that most of the ICC board members were sympathetic towards Pakistan’s situation, but PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi was, nonetheless, advised to accept the ‘Hybrid’ model as the only “plausible solution” for the current imbroglio.

If a ‘Hybrid’ model is adopted, India’s share of Champions Trophy matches will be held in the UAE.

Friday’s meeting, which was chaired by deputy chairperson Imran Khwaja owing to outgoing head Greg Barclay’s absence for unspecified reasons, was brief after Naqvi reiterated his country’s position once again. This was to be Barclay’s last official engagement before the taking of charge by new chair Jay Shah early next month.

In Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated BCCI’s stand that that the Indian team cannot travel to Pakistan due to security reasons.

Naqvi attended the meeting in person as he has been in Dubai since Thursday to push Pakistan’s stance. BCCI secretary Jay Shah attended the meeting online. Shah will take charge as the new ICC head on December 1.

It is understood that if the tournament is rescheduled, the PCB will have to forego its hosting fee of USD six million along with gate revenue. There could also be a significant cut to their annual revenue, which is to the tune of USD 35 million.

Unless the ‘Hybrid Model’ is implemented, even the ICC will be in a spot of bother as official broadcaster Star would then renegotiate the multi-billion dollar deal with the body.

The only window available for the tournament is between February 19 to March 9 and all other participating nations have their bilateral engagements after that.

As things stand, the PCB can negotiate for a hefty compensation for having to share the hosting rights but a full tournament in Pakistan is unlikely.

Pakistan also have the option of hitting back at India by not coming come for the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in India in 2025. A veteran BCCI official, who has followed the politics of ICC closely, explained the scenario.