Since the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not entirely on board with the hybrid concept, the impasse over hosting the ICC Champions Trophy remains unresolved. Although previous reports suggested a truce on the hybrid model with India to play their matches in the UAE, it appears that the argument over hosting the ICC events is still ongoing.
The PCB and the BCCI are engaged in a fierce struggle. Due to security concerns, the BCCI is uncomfortable bringing the squad to the area, even though the PCB wanted all of the games to be played in Pakistan.
There hasn’t been an official announcement yet, but recent sources state that members met at ICC headquarters and decided to hold a hybrid tournament with India to play their matches in Dubai.
As the hosts, PCB is not looking back. They have faith that the event will be successfully hosted. But what would happen if they pulled out? A top official described the potential outcomes. They said that PCB would incur losses and legal problems if they were to pull out, making it an expensive affair.
Like all other countries taking part in the event, Pakistan has signed an obligatory Members’ Participation Agreement (MPA) with the ICC in addition to a host agreement.
A member country is only entitled to a portion of the money made from ICC events once it has signed the MPA to participate in them, the administrator stated, as reported by India TV.
Most notably, the ICC guaranteed that all of its members would be allowed to participate in their events, including the Champions Trophy, when it inked a broadcast agreement for all of its events. The truth is that even after the board gave Pakistan hosting rights, the ICC continued to ignore or brush aside the question of whether India would send a team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
“Even the signing of the hosting rights was delayed until late last year within the PCB because they wanted a clear answer from the ICC and BCCI on this issue,” the administrator explained.