The debate regarding Champions Trophy 2025 remains heated, and none has been settled when it comes to fixing the date. India travelled to Pakistan citing security issues and this led to much discussion on how the ICC shall handle the situation. A ‘hybrid’ formula would allow India to play their matches in Dubai, but there has been no official announcement. Further, an ICC meeting which would have addressed this issue was planned for December but now stands postponed owing to the range of disagreements being faced in establishing a way forward. As per Cricbuzz, the delay might lead to the Champions Trophy transforming into a T20 tournament as opposed to keeping within the traditional ODI format.
“If stalemate is there for a long time then it is really possible that some of the stakeholders involved may just wake up and begin to revitalize calls for the turning of the Champions Trophy into a T20 format which would be simply too easy to market and faster than the ODIs which will soon lose their relevance,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board could also end up suffering revenue losses, legal cases and also face the risk of international isolation if it opts out of the ICC Champions Trophy due to a deadlock on the mode of organising the 50-over event scheduled in February-March next year.
It won’t be an easy decision to pull out for PCB because the hybrid model is not entirely accepted by ICC and BCCI, said a senior cricket administrator here, who has been dewy eyed with the organisation of ICC events.
“Pakistan has signed not only host agreement with the ICC but like every other participating nation in the event has also, like all the other participating nations, signed a mandatory Members Participation Agreement (MPA) with the ICC,” the administrator explained.
The income generated from the events conducted by ICC cannot be claimed by the member country until it has signed the MPA for participating in events organized by ICC.
“More important is that when the ICC signs a broadcasting agreement for all its events, it guarantees that all ICC members are available to play in their events including the Champions Trophy,” he said.