Reiterating its stance of not using a hybrid model for the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) president Mohsin Naqvi on Monday said he still retained “positive expectations” about the tournament, and added that he is willing to speak to the BCCI to break the deadlock that arose after the Indian board refused to send its team to Pakistan, citing security concerns.
“At this moment, every team that has qualified for the Champions Trophy is ready to come. Nobody has any issues. I will say today also, if India has any concerns, speak to us about them, we can ease those concerns. I don’t think there is any reason for them not to visit,” Naqvi told reporters in Lahore on Monday.
Naqvi maintained that the PCB is still awaiting a reply from the International Cricket Council (ICC)
regarding the details and clarity of the BCCI’s decision, which was conveyed to the global body. Despite all the confusion, Naqvi said he was still hopeful about the tournament, the first ICC event Pakistan will host since 1996.
“We have sent them (ICC) the questions we had. We are still waiting for their response. I believe that sports and politics are separate and no country should mix the two. Even now I still have positive expectations about the Champions Trophy,” he said.
Insisting that Pakistan’s pride is of primary importance, Naqvi seemed to have evaded a direct response to whether the PCB would consider the option of boycotting the event should hosting rights be taken away from it.
On being probed about the event’s trophy tour, which began on Saturday in Islamabad but with an altered route after the BCCI had raised objections with the ICC against the PCB’s original plan of parading it through the disputed ‘Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’ (POK) region, Naqvi said, “My feeling is that the ICC will have to think about its credibility, that are they an organisation for all the world’s bodies. And that route has been rescheduled, we haven’t been told about any cancellation.”
Under the revised schedule, the trophy tour kicked off in Islamabad on Saturday before making stopovers in Taxila and Khanpur (November 17), Abbottabad (November 18), Murree (November 19), and Nathia Gali (November 20) before concluding the Pakistan leg in Karachi (November 22-25).
Naqvi said he hoped the ICC would announce the tournament schedule soon so that the PCB could continue its preparations for the marquee tournament.