A likely breakthrough has emerged in the impasse around the 2025 Champions Trophy: the ICC and the PCB have reportedly reached an agreement in principle to adopt the hybrid model for global tournaments hosted in Pakistan or India until 2027. Such an arrangement would allow both to play their matches at ICC tournaments hosted by the other at a neutral venue.
Although the deal was confirmed to PK Press Club by various sources, the PCB – official host of the 2025 Champions Trophy – made no comment, only revealing that discussions are continuing.
It is not yet clear whether the hybrid model would be applicable to men’s and women’s tournaments. In the current ICC business cycle (2024-27), three global events are scheduled in either country: the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next February, the Women’s ODI World Cup in India later in 2025 and the Men’s T20 World Cup. in 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
PK Press Club understands that this development emerged on Thursday after meetings between new ICC president Jay Shah and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. They met in Dubai, on the sidelines of a courtesy board meeting hosted by Shah, who was visiting the ICC headquarters in the city for the first time as part of his new role. A meeting of the Board of Directors to discuss the Champions Trophy is scheduled for December 7.
The PCB’s acceptance of a hybrid model for the eight-team Champions Trophy is believed to depend on a set of conditions. One of them is that a hybrid model should be applicable to all ICC events, including women’s events, held in India and Pakistan until at least 2027, if not the entire cycle current events until 2031.
Other conditions would center on compensation for potential loss of commercial revenue linked to the staging of Indian Champions Trophy matches at a separate venue overseas. If India make it to the knockout stages, then at least one semi-final and potentially the final would likely be played away from Pakistan. The United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka are among the pioneers in this area.
The PCB, reportedly, has suggested organizing a tri-national series involving India, Pakistan and one other country to compensate for any financial loss suffered by either board due to the matches involving the India and Pakistan played elsewhere.
There will likely be more exchanges between the two boards and the ICC on the issue, with the final decision likely to be made at the December 7 Board meeting.
PCB had scheduled the Champions Trophy to begin on February 19, with Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi as the host cities. But, due to the standoff between the PCB and the BCCI – the latter told the ICC last month that it could not travel to Pakistan for the tournament because it did not have permission from the Indian government – the ICC has not been able to release a schedule for the tournament. the event.
Shah promises ‘new era’ for world football
Shah, who served as BCCI secretary from December 2019 to December 1 this year, officially took charge of the ICC, becoming its youngest president at 36. In his first media statement at the ICC, Shah said the world body was embarking on “a new era” and his aim was to take the game to “unprecedented heights” collectively with member countries. Although the entire ICC board was not present in person on Thursday, Shah said he discussed “the initial roadmap and strategies for shaping the future” of the game with several directors.
With Shah’s move to the ICC, there has been intrigue over who will replace him as BCCI secretary. Since 2022, Shah was also the BCCI representative on the ICC Board of Directors, where he held influential positions including heading the Finance and Corporate Affairs Committee. While the BCCI has not made any statement on the name of the next secretary, board joint secretary Devajit Saikia was present at the ICC meetings in Dubai this week. Potentially, therefore, Saikia could be the BCCI representative on the ICC board.
