The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 was held this year. India emerged as the champions of the T20 World Cup after 17 runs. Next year, there is yet another ICC event – The ICC Champions trophy 2025. Pakistan is set to host an ICC tournament after many years. They were not given any hosting rights due to the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team that happened in Lahore. So as an ICC event is back on Pakistan soil, PCB is giving their all to organise the event in Pakistan.
However, the main lingering question has been whether India will travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. India has not travelled to Pakistan since 2006 and have not played any bilateral series since 2012-13. Both these teams have played against each other in ICC tournaments only in countries other than Pakistan. The Indian government is yet again unlikely to allow Indian team to travel to Pakistan due to security reasons. Their stance is clear: Till Pakistan stops funding cross border terrorism, they won’t be going to Pakistan and helping them gather revenue.
The Big Reason Why IPL Will Force ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Out Of Pakistan
Former Pakistan player, Basit Ali, has alleged that IPL will be the reason why the Champions Trophy 2025 will be moved out of Pakistan. He feels that the top 5-6 boards earn a huge profit and revenue from BCCI and the Indian Premier League. The IPL is the richest competition in cricket. So, if BCCI wants a hybrid model, the top boards with the likes of Cricket Australia and ECB will accept it due to the IPL revenue. He went on to say that when the foreign players play in the IPL, they earn a huge amount of revenue and so does the cricket boards. So, they can’t say no to what the BCCI will propose.
“There are 5-6 boards; they will talk with their tails wagging what Jay Shah will say. If he says the Champions Trophy will be in Pakistan, they’ll agree. If he says it’ll be a hybrid model, they’ll go with that too,” Basit said.
“It’s because when their players play in the IPL, BCCI pays their boards a huge amount, whether it’s the English board, New Zealand board, West Indies board, or Australia board,” he said.
