Battle between India and Pakistan leads to cancellation of Champions Trophy launch, potential ‘alternative’ venue canceled

The ICC continued discussions on the Champions Trophy schedule with participating countries amid speculation that the entire tournament could be moved out of Pakistan following India’s refusal to travel to the country, a source said on Tuesday. There was discussion that South Africa could be a viable alternative to host next year’s Champions Trophy, but PTI understands that no such discussion took place at the International Cricket Council on Tuesday. Meanwhile, it came as no surprise that ICC has also suspended the launch event of the prestigious ODI tournament, which was scheduled to take place in Lahore on November 11.

ICC, the game’s global governing body, has received a letter from the Pakistan Cricket Board, seeking written confirmation from the BCCI that India is unable to travel to Pakistan for the tournament.

The PCB has made it clear to the ICC that security is not an issue in the country which recently successfully hosted England and New Zealand and has promised the same for the Champions Trophy.

It remained firm on its stand of not having the event in a hybrid model like the Asia Cup last year when India’s matches were held in Sri Lanka. The ICC has not yet responded to the PCB and was discussing the schedule with the participating teams.

PTI has learned that the PCB is also not keen on organizing the tournament outside the country, even in the UAE. However, the launch event in Lahore has been postponed.

It was scheduled in Lahore as per the ICC management’s briefing to the ICC CEC and the ICC Board on October 21 in Dubai. But this has now been suspended, according to an ICC insider.

South Africa is not discussed as an option

Despite reports in some sections of the media that South Africa could be an option to host the next Champions Trophy, there was still no serious discussion of the option within the ICC, an insider following the developments claimed.

The schedule has not been confirmed, the ICC is still in discussions and dialogue with the host and participating countries. South Africa has not yet been discussed, the insider said.

The PCB had on Sunday confirmed that it had received an email from the ICC stating that India was refusing to travel to the neighboring country.

India has not traveled to Pakistan since the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. The two teams only compete against each other in ICC tournaments.

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