Champions Trophy 2025: Ahead of ICC's emergency meeting, Shahid Afridi makes a case for Pakistan

Hours ahead of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) emergency board meeting to resolve the Champions Trophy 2025 impasse, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has tried to rally support in favour of the embattled Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which could lose the hosting rights if things get worse. Pakistan are the designated host for the Champions Trophy 2025 but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated to ICC that Team India will not take part in the tournament on Pakistan soil due to security issues.

In return, PCB has refused to accept a Hybrid Model due to which the schedule of the tournament has not been finalized yet and ICC now faces financial losses and legal threats from broadcasters. To quickly resolve the issue, ICC has called for an emergency meeting on Friday (29 November). In the virtual meeting, the board members could be asked to vote to resolve the standoff and it’s also possible that PCB may lose the hosting rights if they do not accept the Hybrid Model.

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Ahead of the crucial meeting, Shahid Afridi has slammed BCCI for mixing sports with politics and not sending the team to Pakistan while the Men in Green toured India multiple times, recently for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

“By intertwining politics with sports, the BCCI has placed international cricket in a precarious position. Fully support the PCB’s stance against the hybrid model - especially since Pakistan (despite security concerns) has toured India five times, including a bilateral white-ball series, post-26/11. It’s time for the ICC and its Board of Directors to uphold fairness and assert their authority,” Afridi wrote on X.

By intertwining politics with sports, the BCCI has placed international cricket in a precarious position. Fully support the PCB's stance against the hybrid model - especially since Pakistan (despite security concerns) has toured India five times, including a bilateral white-ball… pic.twitter.com/Xl4YBhCWuB

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) November 28, 2024

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Afridi parrots Naqvi’s stand

Afridi’s social media post was in the same vein as what PCB head Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday. “We’re still clear in our stance that it’s not acceptable that we play cricket in India, and they don’t play cricket here. Whatever will happen, will happen on the basis of equality. We’ve told the ICC very clearly, and what happens next we’ll let you know,” Naqvi had said.

The PCB chair had also stressed that they are not ready to accept any sort of compromise and will not “sell” their rights for financial incentives.

“I promise you that we’ll not just sell our rights out just for more money. This will never happen. But we’ll do whatever is best for Pakistan,” Naqvi added.

It has been reported that the ICC is ready to provide “additional financial” incentives to the Pakistan Cricket Board for hosting the tournament in a Hybrid Model that will allow Team India to play their matches in a neutral venue. PCB wants India to play their matches in Pakistan.