After months of tussle between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the International Cricket Council (ICC) finally announced that the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 will be played under a hybrid model. PCB were awarded the rights to host the entire tournament in Pakistan. However, the BCCI told the ICC that it won’t send the Indian team to Pakistan, citing security concerns. On Thursday, the ICC managed to find an agreement between the BCCI and PCB.
As per the hybrid model, Pakistan will host most of the games, while India’s fixtures, including the one against the former, will be played at a neutral venue.
On being asked to share his views on the topic, Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad took a jibe at the BCCI and the Indian goverment while speaking on Nadir Ali‘s podcast.
Shehzad said that even if a stadium was built on the border where both teams can enter from their respective ends, the Indian government might still have a problem with that.
“Build a stadium on the border. One gate should open in India, the other in Pakistan. Their players can come from there, our players can go from here. But again, I think BCCI or the Indian government will have an issue. They’ll say that when your player comes to the field on our side, we’ll not give him a visa for that,” Shehzad claimed before ICC’s announcement on Thursday.
Shehzad feels that PCB missed a great opportunity to host the Indian team in Pakistan.
“Pakistan had a golden chance to host India. All cricket boards had signed the agreement in 2021 that Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy. ICC cannot back off. PCB has missed the chance I think. We should forget that the Indian team will ever come to Pakistan now. Just forget it. The only way you could have brought India here was by an ICC event,” he added.
