LAHORE: The delegation of the International Cricket Council (ICC), visiting Pakistan for the inspection of venues and facilities for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy, met Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday.

The three-member delegation is being led by the ICC’s head of events Chris Tetley, who is accompanied by senior manager of event operations Sarah Edgar and her subordinate Aun Zaidi, a former PCB employee.

Along with Mohsin, the meeting was attended by PCB chief operating officer Salman Naseer and the board’s director international cricket Usman Wahla and “other PCB officials” as per its press release.

Pakistan were awarded the hosting rights of the Champions Trophy — an eight-team One-day International tournament last held in 2017 — in 2021 and are scheduled to stage it in February 2025.

Since the securing of the hosting rights, there has been no significant development in terms of preparations for an event of the Champions Trophy’s scale, especially owing to the turmoil the PCB had found itself in following the removal of its previous elected chairman Ramiz Raja.

The board was under interim administration for 13 months since January 2023 before Mohsin became Ramiz’s predecessor earlier this year.

The media mogul, who is also the federal interior minister, has been vocal about it apparent plans for the renovation and development of venues, which will host the Champions Trophy matches.

“Pakistan is set to host an ICC Tournament which is an absolute pleasure and a welcome development not just for the board but also for the fans across the country who are an important stakeholder in this sport,” Mohsin said in a PCB statement after his meeting with the ICC delegation. “The PCB will arrange top-notch facilities as per the stature of this historic tournament.

Mohsin had said earlier this week that Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, Karachi’s National Bank Stadium and Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium have been selected as the main venues for the tournament.

There had been criticism towards the condition of the three venues, especially regarding the view from the stands and other basic amenities. Mohsin reiterated that the PCB will prepare the stadiums and make them ready for the Champions Trophy with less than a year to go before the tournament kicks off.

“I am delighted to announce that the PCB will upgrade the three major venues in the country well in time before the start of ICC Champions Trophy 2025,” he said. “The PCB will leave no stone unturned in making this a very successful and memorable tournament.”

While the PCB hardly disclosed any details of the meeting between the ICC and Mohsin, there’s a question mark over how Pakistan will convince archrivals India to make the trip across the border for the tournament.

Mohsin claimed he met Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah during the recent ICC meetings in Dubai, but kept his lips tight over the details of the discussion with his Indian counterpart.

Bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan have stayed stalled since they last played an ODI series in the former’s home, owing to political tension between the two countries.

Both teams, however, play each other in ICC events, which saw Pakistan travel to India for the World Cup in October-November last year.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2024