New Delhi (Nilesh Tiwari), December 12: The Champions Trophy 2025 remains a puzzle involving three parties twisted with no solution. Despite not much time left for the competition, which is less than 75 days away, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement.
There was hope and suspense that the final program of the February 19-March 9 event would be announced on Wednesday, December 11. However, without any announcements from ICC, the delay just kept extending. The ICC Board members meeting, scheduled for December 7, is also unheard of. The virtual meeting had to be rescheduled because they couldn’t agree on how to host the eight-team tournament. It hasn’t been called since.
There is still a slight confusion over the design of the tournament. The problem lies not with the ICC events happening now but with those taking place in the future. Ten matches are to be played out in Pakistan and potentially five in Dubai, which means this 15-match tournament has been shifted to a hybrid format. The primary problem standing between a final settlement of the conflict is BCCI’s refusal to concede to Pakistan’s request for an equal application of the same format in the next three years when India will be hosting international competitions.
The media reports say that ICC is already failing to meet its contractual obligations to stakeholders in terms of meeting deadlines. Now that the 90-day limit has gone, broadcasters are put under pressure to effectively market the event. If the deadlock continues, some stakeholders may revive proposals to switch the Champions Trophy to a T20 format, which is faster and easier to market than the ODIs, which are fast becoming obsolete.
