BCCI secretary Jay Shah lodged a protest with the ICC over the PCB move to include Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the tour itinerary. (PTI)
THE PAKISTAN Cricket Board (PCB) is learnt to have agreed to restrict the tour of the Champions Trophy to the three host cities of Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) filed an objection with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the PCB move to include Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the tour itinerary.
On Thursday, the PCB, in a post on X, said: “Get ready, Pakistan! The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 trophy tour kicks off in Islamabad on 16 November, also visiting scenic travel destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad. Catch a glimpse of the trophy which Sarfaraz Ahmed lifted in 2017 at The Oval, from 16-24 November.”
Following this, BCCI secretary Jay Shah lodged a protest with the ICC.
“PCB is already in discussions with the ICC on how to proceed with the trophy tour to ensure the Champions Trophy is continued to be promoted in Pakistan,” a PCB source told The Indian Express. “The ICC Champions Trophy tour was planned in consultation and with the approval of the ICC. The PCB had not unilaterally finalised the trophy tour schedule,” the source said.
A top BCCI official said that Jay Shah, who is set to take over as ICC Chairman on December 1, told the ICC it was unacceptable that the PCB was planning a trophy tour in PoK.
Get ready, Pakistan!
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 trophy tour kicks off in Islamabad on 16 November, also visiting scenic travel destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad. Catch a glimpse of the trophy which Sarfaraz Ahmed lifted in 2017 at The Oval, from 16-24… pic.twitter.com/SmsV5uyzlL
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 14, 2024
“BCCI secretary Shah has objected to the PCB’s idea to hold a Champions Trophy tour in PoK. The BCCI has no problem if the tour is conducted in any other city of Pakistan or even in a stadium outside PoK or in a mall. But they cannot hold it in PoK,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express on Friday.
No comment was available from the ICC.
The tournament, last held in 2017, is already in controversy after the BCCI asked for its games to be shifted to Dubai because of security concerns, but the PCB has not agreed to the demand.
The top eight teams of the world will take part in next year’s 50-overs Champions Trophy that will run from February 19 to March 9 with Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi as host cities.
The trophy tour is a promotional event before a major ICC tournament. With India wanting to play all their games in Dubai, the tournament could have a hybrid model like when India played its games in Sri Lanka when PCB was the host nation for the Asia Cup last year.
But the Pakistan government is learnt to have asked the PCB not to agree to India’s demand of moving their Champions Trophy games to Dubai.
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