The Pakistan Cricket Board has informed the International Cricket Council that it is willing to accept the hybrid model for India matches in the Champions Trophy after the world body threatened to relocate the tournament if it didn’t fall in line.
The ICC will hold a virtual board meeting soon to formally approve the decision.
The climbdown comes 24 hours after Friday’s meeting was adjourned following
the PCB’s refusal to accept the arrangement.
It was learnt that BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who was scheduled to take over as ICC chairman on Sunday, could delay it by a few days.
The informal decision involving the PCB, the ICC and the BCCI was part of back-channel negotiations in an effort to end the impasse, sources told The Telegraph.
As per the proposal, all India matches will be held in Dubai, including a semi-final and the final, if India make the knockouts. As a counter, Pakistan will also not play any match in India during the 2026 T20 World Cup, as reported by The Telegraph on Friday.
India and Sri Lanka will jointly host the ICC event in 2026 and Pakistan will play all their matches in the island nation. Pakistan are likely to boycott the Women’s ODI World Cup in India next year.
The next Champions Trophy will be hosted by the BCCI in 2029 and options will be kept open since a lot could change by then. India and Bangladesh are joint hosts for the 2031 ODI World Cup.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi also held talks with Emirates Cricket Board’s Mubashir Usmani in Dubai.
“I don’t want to comment too much because that can ruin things. We have given our point of view, the Indians have also given theirs. The effort is to ensure a win-win for all,” Naqvi said on the sidelines of the U-19 Asia Cup. “Whichever formula we go for, it would be on equal terms.”
The PCB is also learnt to have demanded financial compensation for their climbdown — an increase in hosting rights and an enhanced share of their revenue.
Currently, the PCB gets 5.75 per cent of the ICC earnings. While the BCCI gets 38.5 per cent, the England and Wales Cricket Board receives a share of 6.89 per cent, followed by Cricket Australia 6.25 per cent. The PCB is demanding their share to be on par with Australia’s.
