Jay Shah, the newly elected chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), is scheduled to have his first meeting with all of the board members, on December 5 (Thursday). Shah will meet with the 16 board members as scheduled after taking over as ICC Chairman on December 1. However, introducing the new ICC chairman will be the bigger priority in this meeting rather than the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Regarding the Champions Trophy, Pakistan already committed to hosting the competition during its most recent meeting with the ICC board members. The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) finally backed down from its strong position that it would not accept any hybrid model, but only on the proviso that they would not travel to India for any ICC event.
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As reported earlier, every member in attendance—12 full members, three associate members, and the ICC Chairman—rejected their demand.
All parties involved stated that the matter would be resolved when it arises and refused to provide Pakistan with any written consent that would grant them the authority to boycott ICC events in India in the future. As a result, Pakistan has little remaining influence over the situation and will have to go by the requests of every other board member should the Champions Trophy be discussed at the next meeting.
What will happen if Pakistan continues to be rigid?
Only two outcomes are likely to occur if Pakistan continues to defy the board members and refuses to comply until they receive written confirmation that they are not permitted to visit India for upcoming tournaments. The first possibility is that the ICC Champions Trophy is played at a different location and with a different team in place of Pakistan.
Since it would be extremely difficult for the ICC to find another opportunity in the remaining year to hold the event, the second option is that it is completely cancelled. The ICC will suffer losses as a result of the event's cancellation, but Pakistan, which has already invested much in stadium renovations, would suffer even more.
Hence, it leaves PCB with no other option to accede to the demands of the ICC board members and let the tournament take place in a hybrid model without putting forward any further conditions.