Champions Trophy 2025 To Be Held Outside Pakistan? ECB Hints At 'Different Options' In Case India Refuse To Travel To PAK

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has expressed that the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, set to be hosted by Pakistan, going ahead without India’s participation is not an option.

ECB has expressed that it would not be in cricket’s best interests if India do not feature in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.

Source : PTI

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has expressed that the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, set to be hosted by Pakistan, going ahead without India’s participation is not an option. India’s participation in the Champions Trophy is still not confirmed. While some media reports have suggested that the BCCI has proposed a hybrid model for the 2025 Champions Trophy, where India’s matches would be played outside Pakistan, other reports claim that India may refuse to participate if Pakistan fully hosts the event.

According to ESPNcricinfo, ECB chairman Richard Thompson and chairman executive officer (CEO) Richard Gould have both expressed that it would not be in cricket’s interests if India do not feature in the next year’s event, slated to be held across Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.

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Not In Cricket's Interests If India Don't Play: ECB Chair

Thompson and Gould also expressed that in case India refuse to travel to Pakistan, there are options available for the Champions Trophy to go ahead with India’s participation, hinting at the hybrid model.

"It would not be in cricket's interests for India not to be playing in the Champions Trophy. It's interesting, with Jay Shah - the former secretary of the BCCI and now chair of the ICC - [who] is going to have a big role to play in that. There's geopolitics, and then there's cricketing geopolitics. I think they'll find a way. They have to find a way,” Thompson said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"There are always security concerns in this part of the world when those two countries play each other. That will probably drive the key decisions. But I know relationships between the two countries are as amicable as they can be at the moment: we saw it play out at the [men's T20] World Cup in New York," he added.

'Different Alternatives & Contingencies Available'

Gould, who is in Pakistan along with Thompson for meeting with PCB ahead of the upcoming ICC meetings in Dubai highlighted the importance of India and Pakistan's participation in the Champions Trophy, stating that cricket's reliance on broadcast rights makes their involvement crucial.

"If you play the Champions Trophy without India, or Pakistan, the broadcast rights aren't there, and we need to protect them. They [Pakistan] are the host nation. We've seen the developments going on, and we're all waiting to understand whether India are going to travel. That's the key. We think there are some discussions and relationships where they need to be. I know Pakistan are expecting India to travel. There are lots of different alternatives and contingencies available if that doesn't happen,” ESPNcricinfo quotes Gould as saying.

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Gould echoed Thomson’s comments saying that there are different options available in case India don’t travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.

"There are a variety of different options available if those circumstances come along. But also, when was the last time Pakistan hosted any kind of ICC trophy? This is a big moment for the country, and hopefully we can have the fullest possible competition in Pakistan. If that's not possible, we know there are options available,” he added.

The PCB has presented a draft schedule to the ICC that outlines the tournament taking place from February 19 to March 9, with all of India's matches set to be held in Lahore.