NEW DELHI, Nov 16: In a significant development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dropped Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) regions from the ICC Champions Trophy tour. The ICC on Saturday announced the schedule for the tour which kicked off in Islamabad on Saturday and will be making stopovers in Karachi, Abbottabad, and Taxila.
PCB released the trophy tour schedule on Friday which included the cities of Skardu, Hunza and Muzaffarabad located in PoK. BCCI secretary Jay Shah strongly objected to the schedule while criticising PCB for their plan to visit the cities.
As per reports, PCB didn’t consult with the stakeholders including the ICC before announcing the schedule. After BCCI’s flak, ICC asked PCB to cancel the tour to the PoK cities. Shah has also urged ICC to take strong action against PCB.
“The BCCI secretary, after it came to his notice, called up the ICC and was extremely critical of PCB’s move to conduct a Trophy tour of multiple cities which fall under Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.” “He has urged the ICC to take strong action. As far as Islamabad is concerned, there is no issue but there can’t be any Trophy tour to POK,” official sources said.
As per the official schedule, after the Pakistan leg of the tour ends on November 25, the trophy will head to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England. India will be the final stop before the trophy returns to Pakistan for the tournament.
“We are delighted to launch the Trophy Tour with DP World ahead of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, where another action-packed programme of activity is available to fans across the world,” Anurag Dahiya, ICC Chief Commerical Officer, said in a statement.
“The silverware, which will be showcased across all participating nations, will allow the sport’s passionate fanbase to enjoy the unforgettable experience of being up close with the iconic trophy,” he added.
Key dates of the Trophy Tour
- 16 November – Islamabad, Pakistan
- 17 November – Taxila and Khanpur, Pakistan
- 18 November – Abbottabad, Pakistan
- 19 November- Murree, Pakistan
- 20 November- Nathia Gali, Pakistan
- 22 – 25 November – Karachi, Pakistan
- 26 – 28 November – Afghanistan
- 10 – 13 December – Bangladesh
- 15 – 22 December – South Africa
- 25 December – 5 January – Australia
- 6 – 11 January – New Zealand
- 12 – 14 January – England
- 15 – 26 January – India
- 27 January – event start – Pakistan
(Manas Dasgupta)