Pak ‘may withdraw’ than accepting hybrid model

By Chander Shekhar Luthra.

New Delhi : Pakistan may withdraw from next year’s ICC Champions Trophy in case the tournament’s hosting rights are stripped of the country in the wake of India’s refusal to travel across the border for it.

After the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) spokesperson’s confirmation on the same day, that the board had “received an email from the ICC, stating that the BCCI has informed them that their team will not travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025”, the matter has been forwarded “to the Pak govt for their advice and guidance”.

With PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi having ruled out the possibility of a “hybrid model” — under which India would play their matches at a neutral venue while the remaining tournament is played in Pakistan — the International Cricket Council (ICC) may propose shifting the tournament entirely to another country.

Mohsin has stated that the PCB should not be expected to “carry on with their good gestures”, pointing at Pakistan’s flexibility toward the Indian government’s stance of not sending their cricket team to the neighbouring country.

Pakistani media has reported that the PCB would be unwilling to accept security reasons for India’s refusal to visit. New Zealand have toured Pakistan three times in the past two years, with England visiting twice and Australia once in the same period.

It is also important to mention here that “many sportspersons in other disciplines have travelled to Pakistan and vice versa”. But when it comes to cricket, not just the BCCI, but the government also does not want to take any risk. More than security, it’s about geopolitics — something even the ICC knows about.

Pakistan also visited India for last year’s ODI World Cup and the PCB had expected the gesture to be reciprocated for the Champions Trophy. The Champions Trophy is slated to be played across three venues — Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi — from February 19 to March 9 next year.

It is now generally believed in Pakistan that government may go on to ask the PCB to refuse playing against India in any of the ICC or Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments until issues are reso­lved between India and Paki­stan at the government level.

However, after having played the last bilateral series against each other in 2012, Pakistan and India have competed in ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup. Pakistan, in fact, visited India to feature in the ICC World Cup last year.

India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which the latter hosted last year, saw the PCB compromise by implementing the “hybrid model”, which saw Rohit Sharma’s side play its matches in Sri Lanka, with only four matches of the tournament played in Pakistan, excluding the final.

Meanwhile, the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for participation in the T20 World Cup for the Blind scheduled in Pakistan from November 22.

The Indian squad was announced on Tuesday after receiving an NOC from the union Sports Ministry on November 4.

About the Writer: Chander Shekhar Luthra is a senior sports journalist based in Delhi with a unique background as a former cricketer turned journalist. As an ex-Ranji player, he brings over 27 years of expertise covering a wide array of sports events. His work includes in-depth coverage and analysis of ICC Cricket World Cups, the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. He can be reached at shekhar.luthra@gmail.com.

Twitter: @shekharluthra