The Champions Trophy standoff has escalated as Pakistan has formally requested an explanation from the BCCI through a letter to the ICC. This demand comes after India declined to travel to Pakistan for the upcoming tournament. India has not visited Pakistan for a cricket series since the 2008 Asia Cup.
The BCCI has stated that they were unable to obtain the necessary permission from the Indian government to participate in the Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan starting on February 9th next year. This marks the first time since 1996 that Pakistan will be hosting a major ICC tournament, with Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi selected as the venues.
The ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan has sparked significant controversy, with calls from Rashid Latif to have both countries banned from hosting rights by the ICC. In an interview with Hindustan Times, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper expressed his concerns about the situation.
"My suggestion is that ICC should take away the hosting rights of all global events from India and Pakistan for the cycle of 2024-2031. ICC should tell these boards to first resolve all the issues and then we will give you the hosting rights.
"I think Pakistan are slated to host two ICC events, India are also slated to host four-five events in this time period. Take away the hosting rights, if these two teams don't want to play in each other's country, then I am just giving a suggestion that the hosting rights should be taken away by the ICC."
Pakistan has participated in several ICC events in India, with the most recent being the 2023 ODI World Cup. The 2023 Asia Cup was initially planned to be hosted exclusively by Pakistan, but due to India's refusal, Sri Lanka stepped in to host India's matches and the final.
The future outcome of this situation is uncertain and will be interesting to observe in the coming days.
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