Champions Trophy: ICC made to wait as PCB say no to hybrid model again

The reputation of International Cricket Council (ICC) of being a toothless world governing body was amplified on Friday, 29 November, when it failed to break the impasse over the ICC Champions Trophy. The crucial virtual meeting of the Board of Directors was a short-lived one with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refusing to agree to the hybrid model again — and the meeting has now been rescheduled for the next 24–48 hours.

All eyes in the cricketing world were on the meeting in Dubai, the ICC headquarters, as it was supposed to finalise the venues and also release the ratified fixtures. Less than 90 days now remain for the marquee ODI tournament, scheduled to be held in Pakistan from 19 February to 9 March, but the uncertainty all round has irked broadcasters Jio–Star Sports as well as the ICC’s commercial partners.

While no official reason for postponing the meeting was made available, it is learnt that the ICC wants the BCCI and the PCB to work jointly to resolve the stand-off with inputs from the both nations’ governments. It’s common knowledge, though, that the BCCI had written to the ICC saying that they would not be travelling to Pakistan on advice from the Indian government due to ‘security concerns’, while the PCB took a rigid line of not accepting the hybrid model like in the 2023 Asia Cup.

Interestingly enough, Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, will also assume the ICC chairman’s role from Sunday (1 December). Hopes are being raised that he might save the situation by acting as the global body chief and start his innings with a strong ‘win’.

With time running out, the easier option before the PCB would indeed be to agree to the hybrid model, as they have progressed with a makeover of their stadia in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi with hefty grants from the ICC.

Meanwhile, asked about the possibility of a change of tack on the Indian team playing in Pakistan as a one-off consideration, S. Jaishankar, minister of external affairs, resorted to a cricketing analogy to drive home his point. Speaking at the release of former cricketing hero Mohinder Amarnath’s book Fearless in the capital, he said India’s approach to Pakistan has moved from the “traditional side-on position” to an “open-chested position”

Out of Pakistan?

“You mentioned that your performance improved after switching from the traditional side-on stance to an open-chested position; this shift perfectly mirrors our current policy towards Pakistan,” Jaishankar told Jimmy Amarnath, reflecting on India’s historic tour of Pakistan back in 1982.

Meanwhile, there is a final possibility of moving the Champions Trophy to another country entirely, if a consensus cannot be reached at all. Sri Lanka, which recently hosted the Asia Cup, is seen as a strong contender to step in as the neutral venue.

However, this would be a major blow to Pakistan in financial terms, as they stand to lose the USD 65 million hosting fee and additional revenues.