ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Friday made it clear that Pakistan would not accept a hybrid model for the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to take place in February next year.
Speaking to the media in Lahore, Naqvi said that the Indian cricket team had not officially communicated its decision not to send its team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy matches to be held in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Earlier today, Indian media reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had decided not to send the Indian team to Pakistan and suggested a hybrid model for the mega tournament.
According to reports, the BCCI had informed the PCB and other relevant stakeholders of its decision. Instead, the Indian cricket board requested that all of its matches be played in Dubai.
“This has been our position for some time, and we have no intention of changing it. We have written to the PCB, asking them to move our matches to Dubai,” BCCI sources were quoted as saying.
In response to these reports, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s Interior Minister, clarified that the BCCI had not officially communicated its decision to decline playing the Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan.
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“We have a clear stance that they must give it to us in writing if they [the Indian cricket board] have any issues, Till today, we have not discussed any hybrid model,” Naqvi said.
Naqvi also made it clear that Pakistan would not accept a hybrid model for the tournament. He added, “For the past few years, Pakistan has continued to show goodwill, and we hope that we are not expected to extend such gestures every time.”
Pakistan, the winners of the last Champions Trophy in 2017, is set to host the tournament from February 19 to March 9, 2024. The world’s top eight teams will compete across three Pakistani venues: Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi.
Indian Last Tour in 2008
India has not toured Pakistan since 2008. On the other hand, Pakistan’s last visit to India for a bilateral series was in 2012/13, when they played three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Last year, the PCB sent its team to India for the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup. The 2023 Asia Cup, hosted by Pakistan, was held in a hybrid model.
