2024-08-04 21:35:46
The Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan in February 2025. Pakistan has submitted a draft proposal to the ICC fixing the group, schedule and venue for the eight-team tournament. Where India and Pakistan have been kept in one group. Bangladesh is also in the same group. The fourth team in this group is New Zealand.
Besides, the other group includes Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan. PCB wants to organize the tournament from February 19 to March 9. An additional day has been kept on March 10 as a reserve day. But the question is, will India go to Pakistan and play the Champions Trophy?
It is still uncertain whether India will play Pakistan in this competition due to political issues. The Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) has always said that they cannot give any guarantees without the permission of the government. Former cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq feels that it will not be a big event if India does not go to Pakistan and participate in this competition.
According to him, the issue should not be given too much importance. “It’s very simple,” Mushtaq told Cricket Pakistan. If he wants to come, he can come. It doesn’t matter if they don’t want to come. It’s nothing to brag about. There is nothing good or bad about it. It is an ICC event. ICC will look into it. It is their responsibility to see it.’
It is reported that in the last ICC meeting in Sri Lanka, BCCI informed Pakistan that they will not be allowed to play in Pakistan. ICC has also prepared accordingly. A budget of USD 70 million has been allocated for hosting the Champions Trophy. This budget was passed in the last ICC board meeting. The board will receive an additional 4.5 million dollars as other expenses.
It is assumed that the board will spend this additional 4.5 million dollars to host India. It was also discussed in the ICC board meeting. As per the proposed schedule, the matches will be held in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. There will be 7 matches in Lahore, 3 in Karachi and 5 in Rawalpindi. The opening match and one semi-final will be played in Karachi, while the other semi-final will be played in Rawalpindi.