Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 19: The deadlock over the venues for the Champions Trophy to be hosted by Pakistan finally ended on Thursday with the International Cricket Council (ICC) announcing that India will play their matches of the 50-over event at a neutral venue instead of the host country which will also have a similar arrangement for tournaments to be held in India till 2027.
“The ICC Board has approved that all matches between India and Pakistan played at ICC Events during the current rights cycle from 2024 to 2027 [which are to be hosted in India or Pakistan] will be played at a neutral venue proposed by the tournament host,” said the ICC in a statement.
The arrangement will apply to the Champions Trophy 2025 (Pakistan), next year’s women’s Cricket World Cup in India and the T20 World Cup in 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. India has refused to travel to Pakistan to play the Champions Trophy matches scheduled in February-March due to security concerns. India have not played in Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
“The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon,” the ICC stated.
The ‘compromise’ on the part of the ICC means that for the first time, the Indian cricket team will have to move out from its own country to play Pakistan in an ICC event, despite being the host or co-host. For a country that boasts itself to be a cricket power-house, that might hurt.
India and Pakistan have played each other only in ICC or Asian Cricket Council (ACC) events in more than a decade now. In this duration, whenever Pakistan has hosted an ICC or ACC event, India did not travel to the country and played its matches at a neutral venue. India last toured Pakistan for a bilateral series in 2005-06. Pakistan last toured India for a bilateral series in 2012-13.
There was a long impasse surrounding the hosting venue of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The problem started after the BCCI said it would not be sending the Indian cricket team to Pakistan, the designated hosts of the Champions Trophy, upon not receiving any clearance from the Indian government. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) then fumed and was not ready to accept a hybrid model of hosting.
Then they said the same ‘hybrid model’ would have to be adopted when India hosts an ICC event. It took a long time to come to the compromise, but now a middle-ground has been reached. The ICC also awarded the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028 hosting rights to Pakistan.
“It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031,” the ICC said in a release. “The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017. The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.”
