If there is one thing that is being discussed the most in the cricket world at this time, then it is the ICC Champions Trophy tournament to be held in early 2025. The Pakistan Cricket Board i.e. PCB has got the right to host this tournament which is being held after seven years, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India i.e. BCCI has officially informed the ICC that Team India will not go to Pakistan to play. After this, the ICC has proposed to the PCB to organize the tournament on a hybrid model, but it is not ready for this either. In such a situation, the ICC is also considering organizing this tournament in some other country, in which the name of South Africa came up in discussion at the forefront of the race, but now it seems difficult to organize the tournament there as well.
Because of this reason Champions Trophy cannot be held in South Africa
While the Pakistan Cricket Board has clearly refused the ICC to hold the Champions Trophy 2025 on a hybrid model, in this situation the only option left is to organize it somewhere else. South Africa was the frontrunner in this race, but the third season of SA20 is to be played there in early 2025, the official schedule of which has been announced. SA20 will start from January 9 and the final match will be played on February 8, in which its matches will be played in Centurion, Gqebarha, Durban, Paarl, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Although the official schedule of the Champions Trophy has not been announced, it is believed to start from February 19, in such a situation, if a decision is taken to hold the tournament in Africa, then the pitches of these stadiums will not be fully ready for the matches. At the same time, ICC prepares the pitch and stadium for its tournaments in advance so that things can be prepared as per their standards, but in this situation, nothing like this seems to be happening, due to which it is very difficult to organize the tournament even in South Africa.
There was no discussion even in the ICC meeting
The official schedule of the Champions Trophy was to be released by the ICC on November 11, but after Team India’s refusal, it has been postponed. This was also discussed in the ICC meeting held on November 12, in which according to PTI, many ideas about holding the tournament in South Africa have not been put forward yet. The ICC is trying to officially finalize everything soon.