The venue for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is yet to be finalized and a final schedule is likely to be announced in a few days. While Pakistan are the designated hosts of the tournament, India’s denial to travel to the country has badly affected the plans.
During this period, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured “complete support” to his country’s cricket board and backed them to keep their self-respect in this situation.
It is to be noted that Shehbaz Sharif is also the patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board. He recently had a meeting with the PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi regarding India’s stance on the Champions Trophy.
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Pakistan PM assures “complete support” to PCB in Champions Trophy saga
Mohsin Naqvi has supposedly informed Shehbaz Sharif about all the developments going on between the PCB and the ICC regarding the Champions Trophy. However, the PCB hasn’t revealed the details of the meeting in public.
A PTI source claimed that Sharif has praised Naqvi’s stance and assured complete support to the board in these tough times.
“The Prime Minister assured his complete support to the PCB on the issue and appreciated the stance taken by the (PCB) chairman on India refusing to play in Pakistan in the mega-event,” the source said.
Pakistan’s premier news channel Geo TV also quoted a statement from the Prime Minister saying that PCB’s stance also highlights the feelings of the general Pakistani public.
“The stance adopted by the PCB reflects the feelings of all Pakistanis when it comes to the Champions Trophy after the refusal of India to play in Pakistan,” Geo TV quoted Shehbaz Sharif saying to Naqvi.
According to the latest developments, the Champions Trophy 2025 is moving towards a hybrid model. The International Cricket Council is believed to have voted in favour of the tournament to be hosted in a hybrid model according to which India is likely to play its share of matches in Dubai.
Mohsin Naqvi informs Shehbaz Sharif about the developments
Meanwhile, Mohsin Naqvi has stated that any decision on hosting the tournament will be taken after consulting with the country’s government. A government source close to the development also confirmed that Mohsin Naqvi has met with Shehbaz Sharif to inform him about all the developments.
“Basically, (Mohsin) Naqvi wanted to keep the PM updated and get his approval if the PCB decides to break the deadlock with any tough decision on the tournament,” the source was quoted as saying.
PCB’s stance on future ICC events in India
According to the reports, the PCB, which was earlier adamant about hosting the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, is almost convinced that the tournament will be staged in a hybrid model now.
However, the PCB wants the same procedure to be followed for the ICC events held in India till 2031. According to the PCB, Pakistan won’t travel to India for any ICC event and wants its matches to be played in a hybrid model.