Can Pakistan Really Pull Out Of ICC Champions Trophy 2025?

Pakistan's CT 2025 hosting is in danger (Source: @sujeetsuman1991/X)Pakistan's CT 2025 hosting is in danger (Source: @sujeetsuman1991/X)

Less than 100 days before its scheduled start, ICC Champions Trophy 2025 finds itself in all sorts of doldrums. Slated to be played eight years after the previous edition, Pakistan, the defending champions, have the hosting rights of the eight-team tournament.

Recent set of events, however, have motivated them to pull out of the tournament as per reports. With the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) not willing to send the Indian team to Pakistan due to security concerns in spite of getting repeated assurances from the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), the latter is in no mood to settle for a “hybrid” model, as proposed by the BCCI.

“In such a case, one of the options the government is mulling is that of asking the PCB to ensure Pakistan don’t participate in the Champions Trophy,” a source close to the developments told Dawn yesterday.

India, who haven’t toured Pakistan since 2008 due to sour political relations with their neighbors, had convinced the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) to allow them to play their Asia Cup 2023 matches in Sri Lanka. As a result, Pakistan had hosted only four out of the nine matches even after having the hosting rights.

Eying a similar setting with respect to the next edition of the Champions Trophy, there are reports of BCCI wanting to play their matches in the UAE. However, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi remains adamant against PCB expected to “carry on with their good gestures” every time.

Can Pakistan Pull Out Of ICC Champions Trophy 2025?

Technically, yes. Any team can pull out of any bilateral or multi-team tournament if it is willing to face severe consequences.

Never short of controversies regarding anything and everything, PCB would ideally want to allow their players to participate in a global event being played at home for the first time since 1996.

Considering how the situation is beyond PCB’s hands now, Naqvi, also Pakistan’s interior minister, is expected to take a wise decision which wouldn’t affect the development of the current and future players of the country. Apart from the financial loss, which PCB can’t afford at the moment, not conducting a rare ICC event could also bereft the next generation of motivation to play the game.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, meanwhile, has suggested the Indian government to keep the sport apolitical. Earlier, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram had also urged

“The world is changing fast, and the Indian government should also change its behaviour. Leadership of both states should come forward to save cricket from political pollution,” Ashraf was quoted as saying by Dawn.

Assuming sense doesn’t prevail on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, fresh reports suggest that the Champions Trophy could be played in South Africa. If it happens, it will be their second such opportunity after successfully hosting ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

That aside, it would also provide entry for additional controversies, legal disputes and complications for sponsors and broadcasters. Pakistan cricket, as a result, will have a lot to lose for no fault of the administrators or the players. On the contrary, BCCI's financial clout will emerge victorious yet again.

Will Pakistan Be Able To Host The Champions Trophy Despite Pulling Out?

Pakistan, who were allotted USD 70 million to conduct the tournament, could still host it as a neutral venue in spite of not partaking in it.

That being said, the issue pertaining to the Indian cricket team would still persist. With hybrid model coming with its own complications, ICC wouldn’t mind stripping Pakistan of the hosting rights by conducting the tournament elsewhere.

In such a scenario, Sri Lanka, by virtue of finishing ninth during ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, will replace Pakistan as the eighth team in the coveted event.