Former Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has thrown his full support behind the BCCI’s decision to not send the Indian cricket team to Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Pathan praised the BCCI for prioritizing the safety and well-being of the national players, emphasizing that the board always takes the decision in the best interest of both the team and the nation.
Yusuf Pathan endorses BCCI’s firm stand on the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
India is firm on its stance not to send the Men in Blue across the border for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 despite Pakistan’s insistence on hosting the prestigious tournament solely on their soil. The BCCI proposed the hybrid model for their matches in the event.
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However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared their own demands to accept the hybrid model for India’s matches in the eight-nation event, including the same model for Pakistan’s matches in the India-hosted ICC tournaments till 2027 and more revenue from the upcoming tournament.
However, reports claimed that the BCCI refused to accept hosting Pakistan’s matches outside India. Reacting to the whole drama, Yusuf Pathan hailed the Indian cricket board for keeping the players’ safety first and insisted that the board would always take the right decision while backing their call not to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Yusuf Pathan lauds BCCI for protecting Indian players’ safety
Yusuf Pathan was quoted as saying by ANI, “BCCI always thinks about the players and their safety. So whatever BCCI does is in the interest of the players and the nation.”
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have reportedly reached an agreement on a hybrid model for global tournaments until 2027. According to this innovative model, India and Pakistan will play their matches at neutral venues for ICC tournaments when they host any event.
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Well, the PCB has yet to make an official comment on this solution, but sources close to ESPNcricinfo have confirmed that discussions are ongoing. An ESPNcricinfo report claimed that the agreement was reached following discussions between the new ICC Chairman, Jay Shah, and PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, in Dubai during the board meeting.
PCB Silent as ICC considers hybrid model for India-Pakistan tournaments
This meeting was called by Jay Shah as part of his visit to the ICC headquarters in his new position. A formal board meeting to further discuss the Champions Trophy 2025 is set for Saturday. However, it is still not clear whether the hybrid model will be implemented for both men’s and women’s tournaments in India and Pakistan.
During the ICC’s current commercial cycle (2024-27), three major global events are set to take place in either Pakistan or India: the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February 2025, the Women’s ODI World Cup in India later in 2025, and the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.