The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2025, but the controversy continues. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has left the decision on Team India’s visit to Pakistan for this tournament to the Indian government, as political relations between India and Pakistan are not good. The BCCI has also demanded that the tournament be held in some other country instead of Pakistan. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is adamant that the tournament will be held in Pakistan and has also started preparations for it. Meanwhile, a decision of the Pakistan Cricket Board surprised everyone. It seems that they do not have the money to organize the Champions Trophy.
Lights will be provided on rent
PCB has planned to install new floodlights in the stadiums of Lahore and Karachi. These lights will be installed on rent so that there is better lighting during the tournament. Apart from this, PCB has also decided to install floodlights on rent in the stadiums of Quetta, Abbottabad, and Peshawar so that domestic season matches can be played in the summer. The existing lights of Karachi will be sent to Quetta and the lights of Lahore will be sent to Rawalpindi. PCB has also started the tender process for these new lights. Pakistan is installing rented things for such a big tournament. This makes it clear that they do not have money, but still, they have to conduct the ICC tournament.
Will the entire Champions Trophy be played in Pakistan only?
However, the biggest question in this whole matter is whether the Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan or not. The situation of this controversy is quite similar to the last Asia Cup, where the BCCI refused to send its team to Pakistan. At that time too, the BCCI remained firm on its demand, and finally, the tournament was organized under the joint hosting of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. This time too, the BCCI is demanding to organize the Champions Trophy outside Pakistan.
In this entire situation, there seems to be little hope of any agreement between the two countries. While the BCCI is firm on its demand, the PCB is also busy preparing its stadiums. If no agreement is reached between the two parties, it will be interesting to see how the organization and venue of the Champions Trophy will be decided in the future.