Dubai/Karachi: The emergency meeting of the International Cricket Council’s executive board could not achieve a consensus on the much-awaited Champions Trophy schedule and will reconvene on Saturday after Pakistan once again rejected the ‘Hybrid’ model of hosting the event.
The meeting was brief after Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi made it clear that the ‘hybrid’ model won’t be acceptable despite India’s firm refusal to travel to his country owing to a lack of government clearance.
“The Board did meet briefly today. All parties continue to work towards a positive resolution for the Champions Trophy 2025 and it is expected that the Board will reconvene on Saturday and continue to meet over the next few days,” a senior administrator of an ICC full member nation, who is also a part of the Board, told PTI.
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.
“BCCI has issued a statement. They have said that there are security concerns there and it is therefore unlikely that the team will be going there,” an MEA spokesperson said in a routine briefing when the country’s Champions Trophy participation was mentioned.
PCB chairman 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 the ‘Hybrid Model’ is being seen as the only “plausible solution” and if the tournament is adjourned, the PCB will have to forego their hosting fee of USD six million along with gate revenue.
There could also be significant cut on 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.
