ICC Champions Trophy Schedule Announcement Highlights: ICC yet to make a final decision on BCCI-PCB dispute

The 2023 Asia Cup was supposed to be held entirely Pakistan, which would have made it the first cricketing event featuring more than two teams in the country since the 2008 Asia Cup.

As is the case with the upcoming Champions Trophy, the BCCI refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan, as a result of which the tournament had to be conducted in a ‘Hybrid Model’ – in which a majority of games were moved to the UAE.

The Champions Trophy schedule was to be announced today, with reports claiming the BCCI and the PCB had arrived at an agreement over the ‘Hybrid Model’ – or the ‘Partnership Formula’ that the Pakistani board prefers.

However, there hasn’t been an official communication from either board or from the ICC so far today, with the day almost over.

Pakistan has not hosted a global event since the 1996 Wills World Cup, in which Sri Lanka defeated Australia in the final in Lahore to be crowned world champions for the first time.

Pakistan had been awarded the hosting rights for the 2009 Champions Trophy, only for the tournament to be moved to South Africa due to the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March, which made the nation a no-go zone in cricket for the next six years.

Pakistan had won the ‘mini-World Cup’ for the first time, thrashing India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval after posting a daunting 338/4 on the board. Fakhar Zaman, whose game-changing 114 helped the Men in Green post the match-winning total, was caught-behind on 3 off Jasprit Bumrah when the pacer was found to have overstepped.

There was no looking back for the Pakistanis from thereon as they would go on to register one of their most memorable victories ever.

Both pacer Mohammad Amir and spin-bowling all-rounder Imad Wasim announced their retirement from international cricket for the second time in their careers last week. While Wasim announced his decision on Friday, Amir followed suit the following day.

Both Amir and Wasim were part of Pakistan’s memorable 2017 Champions Trophy campaign, in which the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side made a heroic comeback after nearly getting eliminated from the tournament and defeated arch-rivals India in the final at The Oval. ( READ MORE )