ICC approves Champions Trophy 2025 budget for Pakistan, no discussion on India's participation
2025 Champions Trophy likely to move out of Pakistan due to BCCI's stance
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly approved the budget for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in Pakistan early next year. The allotment of 12.80 billion Pakistan rupees or INR 3.85 billion was done at the recently-concluded ICC Annual General Meeting (AGM) from July 19-22 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The news of fund allotment was reported by Cricket Pakistan website citing local media reports. There was also no discussion held on India's reported reluctance about travelling to Pakistan for the tournament.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been pushing for a hybrid model to play their games at a neutral venue instead of going to Pakistan, claim some media reports.
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A top BCCI official reacted to nodiscussion on India's participation in Champions Trophy and said to news outlet News 18: “It isn’t a bilateral where two boards will hold discussions. No dialogue happened between us and PCB on the Champions Trophy. Since it wasn’t on any of the agendas, it wasn’t discussed during the AGM too. It is still time away and ICC will handle it.”
Both India and Pakistan face each other in the ICC and Asian tournaments only and do not play bilateral series owing to political tensions between them.
Last year, India decided not to travel to Pakistan for the the regional Asia Cup. The tournament was eventually played in hybrid model with India playing all their matches in Sri Lanka.
As for the Champions Trophy, the PCB has already released a draft schedule, and the top-tier 50-over tournament is expected to be played from February 19 to March 9 next year.
Three venues have been selected by the PCB namely Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi, and Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium. As of now, all of India's matches are scheduled in Lahore.
