While the window for the eight-Team ODI tournament is placed between February 19 and March, the ICC has not even formally announced the dates or schedules. Generally, for a global tournament, the ICC has announced the program 100 days before the program in the past.
The reason for the delay is the Government of India refusal to allow Rohit Sharma’s team to travel to Pakistan. That decision was informed to the ICC a fortnight ago. The PCB, who was awarded the hosting rights for the Champions Trophy in 2021, later wrote to the ICC that the BCCI had raised several questions about the exact reasons given by the BCCI, and when he informed the ICC. According to a PCB officer, he has not received any response from the ICC till date.
PCB President Mohsin Naqvi has been stable about hosting the entire tournament in Pakistan at three places: Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. Last week, he said that he would be open for a dialogue with the BCCI to break the deadlock. An ICC spokesperson confirmed Friday’s meeting, but the PCB has not commented so far.
The ICC Board consists of representatives of 12 full member countries, three representatives of Associates, President of ICC and an independent director with CEO. The meeting is correct at the end of the tenure of the current ICC President Greg Barklele. On Sunday (1 December), he will have the last board meeting earlier, which he has been replaced by a prominent person in the case of Jai Shah, BCCI Secretary and Champions Trophy on the first (1 December).
PCB President Naqvi is also an important person as its internal minister in the Government of Pakistan. For the past few days, he has been busy in Islamabad in an attempt to reduce political protests by former premiere (and captain) Imran Khan’s party PTI.
Additional Reporting by Usman Samiddeen
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