ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi departed for Dubai to take part in the ICC Board of Directors meeting on Monday, during which the upcoming Champions Trophy tournament to be hosted by Pakistan next year is likely to come under discussion.

Pakistan is set to host the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament from February to March 2025. The last time that Pakistan hosted an ICC tournament on its home turf was in 1996 when it co-hosted the 50-over World Cup won by Sri Lanka. However, Pakistan hosting the tournament on its home soil has generated a lot of debate as arch-rival India’s participation remains uncertain. 

India have not played an international match in Pakistan since 2008. India refused to tour Pakistan last year for the Asia Cup 2023 tournament, forcing Pakistan to agree to a “hybrid” form of tournament in which India’s matches were held in Sri Lanka. Last year however, Pakistan traveled to India and participated fully in the 2023 ODI World Cup. 

“Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Mohsin Naqvi has departed for Dubai to take part in the ICC Board of Directors meeting,” the PCB said in a statement. “The ICC Board of Directors’ key meeting will take place in Dubai today.”

The PCB, meanwhile, has remained unchanged in its stance on wanting to host the tournament in its entirety in Pakistan. 

The Champions Trophy was originally known as the ICC Knockout when it was staged in 1998 in Dhaka, Bangladesh and in 2000 in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was renamed the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and was held every two years until 2009, when it was held in South Africa after the scheduled event in 2008 in Pakistan had to be canceled. 

Subsequently the event moved to a four-year cycle and features the top eight teams in the ICC one-day rankings. The first round comprises two groups of four with the top two in each group progressing to the semifinals and the winners contesting the final. The competing teams are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.

Pakistan won the last Champions Trophy tournament held in England in 2017, beating arch-rivals India by 180 runs in a one-sided final.