The upcoming Champions Trophy is the talk of the town in the cricketing world. There is an ongoing friction between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the former's decision to not send its national team to Pakistan for the 50-over tournament. While the PCB submitted the draft schedule a few months ago, the final schedule is set to come on November 22, according to the ICC sources. Moreover, sources inform that the tournament is likely to be played in a hybrid model.
There is ongoing friction between the BCCI and the PCB due to the former's reluctance to travel to Pakistan. This has led to the delay of the announcement of the schedule. The schedule for the event was set to be announced 100 days before the commencement of it. As per the draft schedule, the Champions Trophy is slated to commence on February 19. As per this date, the schedule should have come on November 11, however, the ICC had cancelled an event on that day due to the BCCI not wanting its team to travel to Pakistan.
The BCCI had informed the ICC of its decision to not send the national team to Pakistan. The International Cricket Body had then conveyed this to the PCB, who has now asked the ICC to seek the written reason behind India's reluctance to travel to Pakistan.
If a hybrid model gets an official go-ahead, UAE and Sri Lanka are being considered as possible options. Moreover, as per PTI sources, if Pakistan pulls out of hosting the tournament, it could completely move to South Africa.
Pakistan was the host of the ODI Asia Cup last year but the tournament was shifted to a hybrid model after the BCCI stated that the Indian team would not travel to their northern neighbours. India's matches were held in Sri Lanka, including most of the Super Four clashes and the final. Meanwhile, Pakistan has not hosted a single ICC event since the 1996 ODI World Cup. The Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be the first ICC tournament in the nation after 28 years.
