Former Pakistan cricketer criticizes BCCI for attempting to sabotage Champions Trophy: SLAMS them after latest ICC warning

New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) convened a virtual meeting on Friday, November 29, to address the ongoing deadlock regarding the hosting of next year's Champions Trophy. Unfortunately, the meeting lasted only 15 minutes and did not yield any substantial breakthroughs.

Both the PCB and BCCI remain firm in their stance, making it increasingly likely that the Champions Trophy will be moved from Pakistan. If the PCB does not agree to a hybrid model, the tournament could proceed without Pakistan’s participation. However, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali believes that a Champions Trophy without both India and Pakistan would not be viable.

“Who won in the meeting — ICC, BCCI or PCB? And How could the meeting end so quickly? Ab pata chalega, Pakistan ko ek kaum bana diya hai BCCI ne (now they will get to know, the Indian board has united Pakistan)…Even those who were against the PCB, they are saying ‘Whatever (PCB chairman) Mohsin Naqvi says, we will stick to that,” Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel.

“Yeh insaaf nahi hai, ke hamari Champions Trophy pe aap daaka daalne ki bharpoor koshish kar rahe hain (it’s not justified that they are trying to rob Pakistan of Champions Trophy hosting),” Ali further added.

The ICC Board is set to meet in the coming days to make a final decision regarding the tournament, which is scheduled to take place from February 19 to March 9 next year.

The Champions Trophy will make its return to the ICC calendar after seven years. Political tensions between India and Pakistan have prevented these two teams from facing each other outside major ICC events since 2008, with India last visiting Pakistan 16 years ago. However, this hasn’t stopped Pakistan from traveling to India for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2016 T20 World Cup.