LAHORE: Amid the ongoing strains between Pakistan and India over latter’s participation in the 2025 Champions Trophy, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi is hoping for a positive outcome on the matter by Monday.

On the other hand, the postponement — for the fifth time — of the online meeting of the ICC executive board on Saturday kept the fate of the eight-nation event hanging in the balance after India refused to send its team to Pakistan which is going to host the Champions Trophy for the very first time in February-March.

The PCB recently offered a solution — a two-way hybrid model — under which the teams of both the countries will not tour each other’s territory for the next three years during which their matches of the ICC-managed events will be played at neutral venues.

Well-informed sources on Saturday told Dawn that Mohsin is hoping for a positive outcome by Monday after receiving some positive signals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding the acceptance of the PCB-proposed two-way hybrid model.

While the PCB is busy making all the arrangements for the Feb 19-March 9 competition, the ICC, mainly due to India’s persistent refusal to visit Pakistan, has not been able to finalise the schedule of the event. Pakistan, the winners of the 2017 edition, will be looking to defend the Champions Trophy title.

Due to the sensitivity of the issue, the PCB, BCCI and the ICC are not offering even a single word on the subject amid communication through backdoor channels to resolve the issue while time is running short.

In a media talk in Lahore on Saturday, Mohsin did not respond to a volley of questions on the Champions Trophy.

“The ICC meeting scheduled for Saturday has been postponed and as soon as any decision comes out the PCB will share it with the media,” the chairman said at the Lahore Region Cricket Association ground where he had come to inaugurate the revamped offices of the association.

“Inshallah God will do better. The discussions are ongoing in the ICC and I can’t say anything prematurely on any terms and conditions at the moment.

“We will not disappoint the nation. In the coming days the things will be final and Inshallah it will be final beyond the nation’s expectations,” he added.

On being asked to comment on some media reports suggesting that the PCB had put forward a condition before the BCCI of holding an annual tri-series involving Pakistan and India at a neutral venue, Mohsin said he would not talk on any terms and conditions citing the negotiations on the matter were in progress at ICC level.

“Some news reports are not based on reality but yes the talk is in progress and let the final outcome of the negotiations come out with the approval of the ICC. We are doing our best for Pakistan, for Pakistan cricket and for international cricket,” the PCB chief insisted.

In reply to a question about the role of the ICC, which seems under BCCI pressure, Mohsin avoided any comment.

“I don’t want to give any comment on any such thing because the negotiations are on and I don’t want to spoil it,” he said.

“Pakistan has been playing a very positive role throughout and will continue it for the betterment of cricket.”

To a similar question regarding the role of the ICC, Mohsin said that if the ICC progressed, entire world cricket would also progress.

“If there is any dent in the ICC, it will be a loss for the entire world of cricket.”

Meanwhile, Mohsin said that the LRCA ground, known more as the LCCA ground, would also be used as a practice facility for the teams during the Champions Trophy.

When asked why many grounds across Lahore had been closed down, the chairman said that it was the job of LRCA president Khawaja Nadeem to restore those venues besides building new ones. “He [Nadeem] has the potential to do it.”

It is learnt that the LRCA spent a huge money of Rs4 million from its own resources to entirely change its offices. The PCB chairman, however, did not announce any grant for further development of the association.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2024