- No agreement reached between PCB, BCCI on “hybrid” format.
- ICC is still unable to announce the schedule of the event.
- Under the hybrid model, Pakistan-India matches played in Dubai.
Next year’s Cricket Champions Trophy saga said on Thursday that no agreement has been reached on a proposed “hybrid” format that would allow India to play its matches outside host nation Pakistan.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars since the subcontinent was carved out after partition in 1947, and that rivalry often plays out on the cricket field.
The eight-team tournament suffered a setback last month when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the International Cricket Council (ICC) that their team had been withdrawn due to security fears and political tensions. But will not compete in Pakistan.
Sources speaking on condition of anonymity said AFP The PCB has agreed to the hybrid model – but only on the condition that every ICC tournament in India until 2027 follows the same format, with Pakistan not going to India.
Under the hybrid model, Pakistan will host the group matches but its high-profile clash with India will be played in Dubai.
The final will be held in Dubai or Lahore depending on whether the Indian side works through it.
Sources said the BCCI is objecting to the tit-for-tat status in its hosting and the proposal to play the final in Lahore if India does not qualify.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is in Dubai, where the ICC is headquartered, to finalize the arrangements, sources said.
The stand-off means the ICC is still unable to announce the schedule for the February 19-March 19 event.
The arch-rivals only meet in ICC multinational events, with the last bilateral series being when Pakistan toured India in 2012-13.
India last visited Pakistan to feature in the 2008 Asia Cup and have not played a bilateral series across the border for 18 years.
Pakistan was also forced to host last year’s Asia Cup, with matches in India and the final in Sri Lanka.
India co-hosts the next Twenty20 World Cup with Sri Lanka in 2026 in addition to the Champions Trophy in 2029 and co-hosts the 2031 World Cup with Bangladesh.
In the past few years, Pakistan has hosted the world’s top teams, emerging from a cricketing isolation that began after a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009.
Pakistan has not hosted an ICC event since the 1996 World Cup alongside India and Sri Lanka.