Pakistan to Lose Hosting Rights for Champions Trophy 2025 Amid India’s Security Concerns
Pakistan was set to host Champions Trophy 2025
The 2025 Champions Trophy, originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan, has reportedly been shifted to Dubai, as political tensions prevent India from travelling to Pakistan.
Should Pakistan object to this decision, there’s a potential scenario where the Champions Trophy 2025 adopts a hybrid model, akin to the format used for the 2023 Asia Cup.
This model specifies that all matches will be held in Pakistan, except for India’s games, which will be played at some neutral venue or in Dubai.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to finalise hosting rights agreements for the Champions Trophy 2025, emphasising that compensation should be provided to the PCB in case India declines to travel due to political and security concerns.
According to a report of PTI, the PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf and COO Salman Naseer had met the ICC executive board in Ahmedabad to discuss the hosting of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February-March, 2025.
“Pakistani officials discussed the probability of the Indian board (BCCI) again refusing to send its team to Pakistan and made it clear that in any given situation the ICC must avoid taking unilateral decisions on the tournament,” the source said.
The source further added that PCB officials informed the ICC that if India raises security-related objections to playing in Pakistan, the ICC should engage an independent security agency to assess the situation.
