Courtesy: ICC
The uncertainty surrounding the Champions Trophy 2025, which will be hosted in Pakistan, is getting deeper. According to reports, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is likely to face financial consequences for failing to meet the contractual deadline for the tournament's schedule. As per the contract, the ICC has to declare the itinerary for the 2025 Champions Trophy at least 90 days before the event and distribute it to all stakeholders.
According to the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) draft schedule, the 2025 Champions Trophy would begin on February 19 and go until March 9. Since India refused to travel to Pakistan, citing security concerns, and Pakistan's unwillingness to hold the event under a hybrid format, resulted in to delay in the schedule announcement. This delay in decision-making has affected Jio Star- the official broadcaster for ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Commercial impact on the governing body
This delay in the ICC's schedule announcement has put a roadblock in Jio Star's commercial options of the tournament. Meanwhile, the ICC decided to stay silent on the matter. Still, with time running short for all stakeholders, including the hosts, there may be consequences to the delay in confirming the Champions Trophy schedule. According to sources, as per the report from Cricbuzz, the Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed great concern over the delay in resolving the problem.
The report further states that one of the senior PCB officials approached ICC CEO Geoff Allardice directly to convey his unhappiness with the ICC Champions Trophy developments.
ICC to take final decision on November 29 meeting
The International Cricket Council has scheduled a meeting on November 29th, and the board will make the final decision on the same day. Some reports say that the cricket body will adopt a hybrid approach, with India playing all of its matches outside of Pakistan.
ICC's main task will be convincing a rebellious Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to play the event in a hybrid format as the model is likely to be supported during the meetings. However, Pakistan's strong position and India's lack of readiness to travel may have an impact on the event.
There are reports that three scenarios are under consideration looking at the current scenario-
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Scenario 1: ICC to put forward a hybrid model and Pakistan reluctantly accepts it.
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Scenario 2: Pakistan rejects the demand, resulting to the relocation of the series to a new country.
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Scenario 3: The tournament is cancelled or indefinitely postponed.
