The International Cricket Council has reached an agreement to conduct the Champions Trophy in a hybrid model next year, allowing India to play its share of matches in Dubai, while agreeing “in principle” to a similar arrangement for multilateral events until 2027 According to a key ICC source, the decision was more or less finalized on Thursday during an informal meeting between the body's new president, Jay Shah, and the Board of Governors, including Pakistan, at its headquarters in Dubai. “All parties have agreed in principle that the 2025 Champions Trophy will be held in the UAE and Pakistan, with India playing its matches in Dubai. It is a win-win situation for all stakeholders,” the ICC source told PTI.
The Champions Trophy will be held in February-March next year. While Pakistan withdrew its boycott threat and agreed to go hybrid at the previous ICC meeting last week, it had demanded a mutual settlement for itself till 2031. However, the ICC has agreed to a hybrid model for all its events until 2027.
During this period, India will host the Women's ODI World Cup and the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup along with Sri Lanka in October this year.
Given the hosting agreement, Pakistan would not have been forced to travel to India if it had insisted against it in 2026, even if a hybrid model did not exist.
“During the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, Pakistan will play its matches in Sri Lanka. The compensation demanded by PCB for the hybrid Champions Trophy model is still under consideration,” the source said.
Agreeing to this arrangement means that the Indian women's team will have to travel to a neutral venue to play their league match against Pakistan, should that become necessary due to the yet-to-be announced fixture schedule.
“Cricket has to win, that is the most important thing, but with respect for everyone. We are going to do what is best for cricket. Whatever format we choose, it would be on equal terms,” Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi had said , after the last ICC declared. meet.
The latest development will pave the way for the release of the long awaited Champions Trophy schedule by fans and broadcasters, Star Sports.
Under the contract between the ICC and the broadcaster, the governing body was expected to provide the tournament schedule at least 90 days in advance, but that deadline has already been missed.
The channel's representatives were in Dubai to discuss the operational modalities of the 'hybrid model' and its future schedule with Shah. But that meeting was postponed until Saturday, according to sources.
The PCB had previously indicated that it wanted a larger share of the annual revenue cycle to meet Indian demand for a hybrid model, but there is no word yet on whether this has been discussed.
India has not visited Pakistan since the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 150 people. Their last bilateral engagement dates back to 2012.
Their latest refusal to travel has been attributed to security concerns and the ICC has stated more than once that it does not expect any board member to contravene government travel advice.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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