MUMBAI: The deadlock around the
2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan continues, though there are signs of all the parties trying to find a workable solution going forward. On Friday, the all-powerful board of the International Cricket Council (ICC) held a brief virtual meeting, but it's understood that the meeting was adjourned and no decision was made regarding the tournament.
TOI has learnt that the ICC Board will reconvene in the next few days and work towards a "positive resolution" of the multi-nation event, which is supposed to be played in Feb-March next year.
The situation has been made complex since the Pakistan Cricket Board has refused to entertain the ICC/BCCI's request for a hybrid model of the tournament, with India playing their matches in Dubai. In the ICC meeting on Friday too, the PCB did not budge from its stance that the entire tournament be played in Pakistan. The fact that an ICC meeting took place to sort this imbriglio is being seen as a "positive step" by the stakeholders.
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ICC Champions Trophy 2025 ScheduleEarlier, the BCCI had conveyed to the ICC that it will not be able to send Team India to Pakistan to participate in the tournament, citing lack of government permission. Reacting to the situation, India's ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated BCCI's stand that the Indian team cannot travel to Pakistan due to security reasons.
"The BCCI has issued a statement. They have said that there are security concerns, and therefore, it is unlikely that the team will be going there," Jaiswal said on Friday.