Pakistani and Indian gamers shake arms after the ICC males’s Twenty20 World Cup 2022 cricket match at Melbourne Cricket Floor in Melbourne on October 23, 2022. — AFP”ICC in catch-22 situation” as a consequence of Pakistan-India tussle: supply.Pakistan “expected to refuse playing against India” in any match.”Boards’ approval” to be wanted to relocate Champions Trophy.
In keeping with knowledgeable sources, the PCB has written a letter to the ICC in search of solutions to a couple important questions.
Sources point out that the PCB has requested the cricket’s governing physique when the Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) knowledgeable them that the Indian cricket staff wouldn’t take part within the Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in Pakistan in February 2025.
The PCB has additionally inquired whether or not the BCCI has formally notified the ICC in writing about their refusal.
Moreover, the PCB has questioned the explanations offered by the Indian cricket board, if any, for his or her determination to not go to Pakistan.
India’s (left) and Pakistan’s gamers arrive for the Asia Cup 2023 ODI cricket match between India and Pakistan on the Pallekele Worldwide Cricket Stadium in Kandy. — AFP/File
The PCB has additionally requested a replica of the written communication from the BCCI explaining their causes, so these might be reviewed.
One other query raised by the PCB is how the ICC has responded to the BCCI’s refusal to ship their staff.
Sources counsel that after acquiring solutions to those questions, the PCB plans to hunt authorized recommendation and seek the advice of with the federal government for steering in formulating its subsequent steps.
Nevertheless, sources have additionally acknowledged that if India certainly refuses to ship its cricket staff to Pakistan and the ICC accepts this refusal, the PCB will categorically refuse to play any matches in opposition to the Indian cricket staff in the course of the Champions Trophy beneath any circumstances.
In the meantime, opposite to the experiences within the Indian press that instructed that the ICC may transfer the occasion outdoors of Pakistan, the sources stated that there is not any such growth.
Indian followers in costume soar into the body with Pakistani followers in costume on this undated photograph. ─ AFP/File
“ICC has not approached Cricket South Africa to host the Champions Trophy,” the supply stated.
One other supply added that it is going to be a tricky problem for the ICC to relocate the Champions Trophy outdoors of Pakistan, with lower than 100 days remaining earlier than the occasion.
“How can they just move it? They need boards’ approvals for a start, they need a valid reason to shift it and what could be a valid reason, and when all other boards are regularly visiting Pakistan for bilateral events, how would they vote against an ICC event in Pakistan,” the supply stated.
“And, no way do they take it away without a challenge from the PCB,” it stated, including that the present stance by the Pakistan Cricket Board has already created headache for ICC which wasn’t anticipating this response.
Pakistani individuals watch a stay broadcast of the match between in a theatre in Karachi. ─ AFP/File
The opposite possibility was to relocate the occasion out of Pakistan — but it surely additionally appears a giant problem for the ICC.
Now the one possibility left is to discover a center approach.
“The ball is now in ICC’s court, they’ve to ensure the revenue as well so they’re in a catch-22 situation. The Indians are not travelling to Pakistan, and as a result, Pakistan have taken a stand that it will not play against India, so this is a difficult situation for the ICC,” the supply stated.
“And, when you talk about revenue, ICC knows it can’t minus Pakistan. It knows the value of Pakistan cricket and understands its contribution to cricket revenue and that’s why they are eager to make sure both India and Pakistan play each other at least once in the ICC Champions Trophy,” the source said.
To make things difficult for the cricket’s governing body, there is no precedent of a tournament being shifted outside the actual host to accommodate one team, or when one team was unable to travel to any country.
“For those who keep in mind the 2009 T20 World Cup, the UK authorities did not challenge visas to Zimbabwe. So, as a substitute of relocating the entire match, the ICC tried a center approach that led to Zimbabwe’s withdrawal from the match and it was changed by Scotland.
“This indicates that it will never be easy for the ICC to shift their tournament outside of the announced host without any reasonable ground and at the behest of just one country,” it defined.
