Newly-appointed ICC chairman Jay Shah called a Board Meeting that was set to start at 5 PM IST on Thursday. But now, it has been postponed. Though the exact agenda wasn’t known, reports state that the primary agenda was set to address the hosting situation of the Champions Trophy.
This, after the BCCI refused to travel to Pakistan, which was to host the tournament, and the PCB refused a proposed hybrid model of hosting. According to a report from Cricbuzz, 15 out of the total members of the board are in support of this hybrid model.
The PCB’s position is that if the Champions Trophy is hosted using a hybrid model, future ICC events hosted by India should also follow the same format. This demand is expected to be a key topic during discussions.
The PCB also wants compensation if five games, including India’s three group stage matches, a semi-final, and the final, are held at a neutral venue. And by all accounts, there won’t be much resistance to that either.
The PCB has also offered to arrange a tri-series between India, Pakistan, and a third country at a neutral venue, but it is not known if that will be accepted either. For now, India and Pakistan only play each other in ICC and Asian Cricket Council events, and this too could be rejected.
The other condition by the PCB is to keep India and Pakistan in different groups if a hybrid model is followed, thereby ensuring Pakistan does not have to play any league matches outside their country. This, too, is expected to be rejected since India-Pakistan matches are the most sought-after and revenue-generating matches in world cricket.
