Team India are yet to finalise their decision on travelling to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. There are high chances that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not send its players across the border for the ICC event.
Pakistan are the defending champions of the event, having won the previous edition in 2017. As the Champions Trophy prepares for a comeback after an eight-year sabbatical, India's arch-rivals qualified for the event as hosts.
The eight-team tournament is scheduled for February 2025, as top seven teams from the ODI World Cup 2023, and Pakistan, compete for the trophy. However, India's participation remains a major doubt, due to their long-standing geopolitical issues with Pakistan.
It is reported that ICC, in the case of BCCI's refusal to travel to Pakistan, have a 'Plan B' up their sleeve.
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What if India do not travel to Pakistan for ICC Champions Trophy 2025?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) have another plan, should India refuse to travel to Pakistan for ICC Champions Trophy. It would be a hefty commercial loss, besides decreases in viewership, if the Men in Blue opt out of the upcoming ICC event.
According to media outlet Cricbuzz, the ICC has sanctioned a budget of $65 million for the tournament and a bulk of it is towards hosting some matches outside Pakistan.
The $65 million will facilitate the co-hosting of the Champions Trophy 2025 at a venu outside Pakistan. The case, would then be similar to that of the ACC Asia Cup 2023.
It must be noted that India did not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), at the time, arranged for Sri Lanka to co-host the tournament, alongside Pakistan. India's group matches, and subsequent knockout games were all hosted in Sri Lanka.
What did the ICC spokesperson say?
According to the Chief Executives Committee (CEC), the Pakistan Cricket Board has signed a 'host agreement' and also approved a clause that provides to host a few matches outside Pakistan, for India's sake.
PCB has signed Host Agreement and has worked with management to draft an event budget which is submitted F&CA for approval. Management has also approved an estimate of the increase in the cost of staging the event if it is necessary to play some matches outside Pakistan, CEC revealed.
According to the report, the venues in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi, are already undergoing developments to stage the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches.
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When is the ICC Champions Trophy 2025?
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to start from February 19, 2025. The final of the event will be held on March 09. The three-week long ODI tournament will be played in Round Robin format.
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