ICC Champions Trophy 2025: India-Pakistan hosting rights cancelled

The future of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is still in jeopardy, as India refuses to travel to Pakistan for the prestigious tournament next year. The BCCI demanded the hybrid model for Champions Trophy 2025, but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has raised its demands before agreeing to the proposal.

Adding to the chaos, India has reportedly lost its hosting rights for the 2025 Blind Women’s T20 World Cup. According to Geo.TV, India has been stripped of hosting the 2025 Blind Women’s T20 World Cup due to its refusal to participate in the Men’s T20 Blind World Cup in Pakistan.

India loses hosting rights for Blind Women’s T20 World Cup amid ICC Champions Trophy 2025 row

After India’s refusal to send the team to Pakistan, the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) has barred both nations from hosting multi-nation tournaments until they resolve their disputes, with neutral venues now being considered to address visa and travel challenges.

It is being said that the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) held a meeting in Multan, where questions were raised over India's refusal to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to their team to travel to Pakistan for the T20 Blind World Cup.

Read Also: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: BCCI shocks PCB with latest move after Jay Shah leaves

After the discussion, it has been decided that both India and Pakistan would not host any tournaments until they sort out their issues, and they must consider neutral venues for the events.

Notably, the last full-fledged India vs Pakistan series took place in 2008. The 2023 Asia Cup was also hosted in a hybrid model after India’s refusal to play in Pakistan. On the other hand, Pakistan's blind cricket team qualified for the Men's T20 Blind World Cup final, where they will face Bangladesh.

Pakistan wants a neutral venue for India-hosted tournaments

Meanwhile, Pakistan has proposed a condition after India proposed the hybrid model for the Champions Trophy 2025. While Pakistan wants to host the entire event on home soil, they will accept the hybrid model only if the ICC ensures the India-Pakistan matches in the future will be hosted at a neutral venue when the BCCI would host any tournament.

If ICC accepts PCB’s conditions, it could complicate the hosting of high-stakes matches between the two rivals in upcoming tournaments. A PCB source revealed, “We have presented a fair solution. If India does not accept it, they cannot expect us to send our team there in the future. If an ICC event is held in India, their team would also need to play finals or key matches in Dubai, ensuring parity.”

Read Also: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Harbhajan Singh orders PCB to 'set ego aside' and accept hybrid model

We will not allow one-sided decisions: Mohsin Naqvi

On the other hand, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has insisted that he would not let anything happen unfairly to Pakistan, vowing to put an equal solution with India.

As reported by News18, Mohsin Naqvi stated, “We will do what’s best for cricket. It’s definitely not a hybrid formula, but if a new formula is formed, it will be an equal one. We will not allow one-sided decisions. Decisions should be based on equality.”

Click here to read article