The ICC has to accommodate India even if it infuriates the hosts

November 12, 2024 4:19 pm(Updated 8:10 pm)

Plans for next year’s Champions Trophy are in chaos after India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the tournament and subsequent reports that the hosts are threatening to pull out of the event altogether if it is moved to another country.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were informed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday via email that India would not travel to the country for the tournament that is scheduled to take place between 19 February and 9 March next year and has confirmed Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi as the host cities.

It follows long-running political tensions between Pakistan and India that has seen neither play a bilateral series against each other for more than a decade.

India have not travelled to their neighbours for any game of cricket since 2008 and despite hopes they would do so for the Champions Trophy they have confirmed to the ICC, organisers of the tournament, that they have not been given permission by their government to do so next year.

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The Champions Trophy, which contains the top-eight ranked ODI teams, is the second-most important ODI tournament behind the World Cup but has not been played since 2017, when Pakistan beat India in the final in England.

There are options available to the ICC but playing the tournament in Pakistan now appears impossible.

Here’s the background and what could happen next…

Did the ICC really expect India to go to Pakistan?

It seems so, and Pakistan were also hopeful their neighbours might reciprocate after they travelled to India for last year’s World Cup.

Original plans were made for India to play all their games in Lahore, the closest city to the border. It was thought they might be convinced to travel if they were able to base themselves over the border in Amritsar and commute into Lahore, which is around 30 miles away.

So what next? Could it be a hybrid tournament?

This was the solution for last year’s Asia Cup when all of India’s fixtures and the latter stages were held in Sri Lanka while the other games were played in Pakistan. It has been thought this would happen again, with the United Arab Emirates the likely destination for India’s games and the latter stages of next year’s Champions Trophy.

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However, PCB chair Moshin Naqvi rejected this idea last week, saying a hybrid model was not an option. If Pakistan does not budge from this stance the tournament could be moved, with South Africa an early front-runner to step in. But sources at the PCB told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper yesterday that the hosts could withdraw from the event entirely if it is moved to another country.

So how is this resolved?

Who knows? To make matters worse the PCB source that Dawn spoke to indicated Pakistan could refuse to play all future matches against India at ICC tournaments until the issue over the Indian government’s refusal to allow their team to travel to Pakistan is resolved.

This is the nuclear option for the PCB that will have the ICC in panic mode. Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England & Wales Cricket Board, outlined last month why an ICC tournament without India or Pakistan would make the event unviable.

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“If you play the Champions Trophy without India or Pakistan, the broadcast rights aren’t there, and we need to protect them,” he said.

Gould added that there were a “options available” if India refused to travel to Pakistan. But there appears little room for manoeuvre if the PCB remains steadfast in its refusal to either have a hybrid tournament or to move it somewhere else.

What’s likely to happen then?

Well, the PCB has asked its Indian counterpart – via the ICC – to explain the reasons why it won’t travel. It has also sought the advice of its own government as it considers a response. I would think that after all the posturing and threats, we’ll end up with a hybrid tournament, with all games other than India’s taking place in Pakistan.

That means England, according to a tentative schedule seen by i, will play their three group games against Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa in Lahore and Rawalpindi. India will play their games in either Dubai or Sharjah and, if they qualify, their semi-final will also be in the UAE.

There are understood to be plans for the final to be in either Lahore, the original venue, or Dubai depending on whether India get there.

However, persuading Pakistan to stomach that arrangement will be tough for the ICC. Don’t rule out a fig leaf, such as concerns over readiness of one of the redeveloped grounds, to be offered as a reason for India’s games being moved so Pakistan can save face.