Champions Trophy 2025: With Jay Shah taking over as ICC chief, cornered PCB finds itself running out of options

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had originally scheduled an emergency board meeting on Tuesday in order to find a solution to the dispute between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over next year’s Champions Trophy. Nearly a week later, an air of uncertainty continues to linger over the fate of the Champions Trophy, with the board meeting yet to take place the way the ICC had originally intended after going through multiple delays.

A brief call that lasted less than 15 minutes on Friday was the only time the ICC could get all the Full Member nations along with three Associate members to discuss the biggest talking point in cricket at present.

That said, the Dubai-based organisation that manages the sport at a global level has managed to steer conversations towards a hybrid model – the solution that the BCCI had put forth after refusing to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the tournament.

The PCB had refused to entertain discussions on the hybrid model – which had been implemented in last year’s 50-over Asia Cup in which a majority of fixtures were moved to Sri Lanka – and had stuck to their demand of hosting all the matches in Pakistan.

As of Saturday, however, the Mohsin Naqvi-led board appears to be softening its stance and leaning increasingly towards accepting the hybrid model, though it has put forth a list of conditions that have to be met for the deadlock to finally break.

Given the BCCI’s status as the most powerful cricketing board in the world, one that has been calling the shots in the sport for a while now thanks to its IPL-fuelled financial might, there was little the ICC or any other board could have done in changing their mind about sending an Indian team to Pakistan – which has not happened since the 2008 Asia Cup.

It’s not just the BCCI’s financial might though that might have resulted in the PCB gradually opening up to the possibility of accepting the hybrid model.

With BCCI secretary Jay Shah set to succeed Greg Barclay as ICC chairman on 1 December, PCB’s options continue to dwindle and they might soon find themselves getting booted out of the Champions Trophy altogether if they remain steadfast in their original demands.

How Shah’s ICC takeover changes things for PCB and the Champions Trophy

Shah has been calling the shots in the BCCI despite occupying the post of secretary instead of president since 2019, and has charted a meteoric rise in the last five years to become perhaps the most powerful individual in the cricketing world.

The 35-year-old is now set to become the ICC’s youngest chairman ever after being elected to the role unopposed in August, which only helps the all-powerful BCCI tighten its grip on the cricketing world. The ICC has largely been co-operating with the BCCI ever since it became a member of the ‘Big Three’ with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) and later outgrew them in terms of power.

Read | Jay Shah’s meteoric rise and what his elevation could mean

With Shah at the helm now and eligible to remain in the position for up to six years in three two-year terms, the capital of the cricketing world has virtually shifted from the ICC headquarters in Dubai to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where the BCCI is based.

The board meeting that the ICC has been trying to conduct in order to find a solution to the dispute between the BCCI and the PCB is outgoing chairman Barclay’s final assignment in the role, and with Shah set to assume charge soon, the PCB finds itself cornered at the moment.

‘We will do what’s the best for cricket’

It is perhaps why Naqvi suddenly has adopted a defensive approach and is open to accepting a hybrid model under certain conditions. Naqvi, who also is a part of the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan government as an Interior Minister, made no mention of the PCB’s threat to boycott the Champions Trophy while stating they would be open to a “new formula” for the tournament that was made on the basis of equality.

“We will do what’s best for cricket. It’s definitely not a hybrid formula, but if a new formula is formed, it will be an equal one,” Naqvi told reporters in Dubai on the sidelines of the ICC board meeting on Saturday. “We will not allow one-sided decisions […] decisions should be made based on equality.”

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi's media talk in Dubai. pic.twitter.com/ctla8awqww

— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) November 30, 2024

The PCB has made it clear that they will accept the hybrid model only if the ICC promises to hike its share of the revenue from the current 5.75 per cent, which amounts to US$ 35 million, while adding that a similar approach be taken for ICC events taking place in India till 2031.

With Shah set to become ICC chairman, it remains to be seen if the global body gives in to the PCB’s demands and negotiates a higher cut and offers alternatives for events in India. Both the BCCI and the PCB have been offered some more time to discuss the topic of the Champions Trophy with their respective governments, and a final decision should be expected in the next 48 hours.