No hybrid model, ICC’s responsibility to bring India to Pakistan: PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly asseverated that the impending ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will not follow a hybrid model. The marquee event is scheduled to be hosted exclusively by Pakistan but India’s participation still hangs in the balance.

According to reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reluctant to send their team to Pakistan to play the Champions Trophy. Some reports have also suggested that they are willing to play their matches in Sri Lanka or Dubai. Due to the strained geopolitical relations, the Indian team has not been to Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between the two Asian giants took place in the 2012-2013 season when Pakistan came to India.

Since that tour, India and Pakistan have met each other in major ICC events and the Asia Cup. Last year, Babar Azam and Co. visited India to play in the ODI World Cup. With BCCI unlikely to agree to send their team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, there have been calls to organize the competition in a hybrid model, so that India can play their games at a neutral venue outside Pakistan. However, Naqvi stated that it is ICC’s responsibility to ensure India travels to Pakistan for the showpiece event.

“PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has made it clear to the ICC that Pakistan will host the 2025 Champions Trophy, and there will be no hybrid model. It’s ICC’s responsibility to bring India to Pakistan for the event, and not PCB’s task,” said a report from the Pakistani media house Express News.

The BCCI has yet to release any official statement on India’s participation in the Champions Trophy. The Ministry of External Affairs will make the final decision. Having said that, the major cricket boards will meet in Colombo for an ICC meeting from July 19-22 and the Champions Trophy’s fate is likely to be decided there.