The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has earmarked Lahore as the sole venue for the India games for next year’s Champions Trophy that has been allotted to Pakistan. While the exact schedule has not been finalised for the eight-team 50-over competition, it is slated to kick off in mid-February. Karachi and Rawalpindi are the other designated venues.
While it is still uncertain whether India will travel to Pakistan, given the tension between the countries and recent instance of refusal by India to cross the border for the Asia Cup last year, the PCB has identified Lahore for the India games after a lot of thought. The thinking is that with Lahore being the border city, it will allow the fans to cross through the Wagah to watch their side play without much difficulty.
Also, the organisers wanted to ensure that the Indian team will not have to travel or cris-cross the venues to play the matches. They will be based only in one city and avoid travel hassles. The PCB has recently disclosed that it has sent the Champions Trophy blueprint and the venues to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Pakistan are the defending champions of the Champions Trophy, having beaten India in the final at the Oval in the last edition of the competition in 2017. It will be the first time Pakistan will have staged the Champions Trophy should it be held there. The competition was allotted to the country in 2008 but was moved out due to security concerns, with South Africa hosting it in 2009
Originally known as the ICC Knockout Trophy, when it was staged in 1998 in Dhaka and in 2000 in Nairobi, the event was renamed as the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002. It was held every two years until 2009. Subsequently the event moved to a four-year cycle but this time, it has taken eight years to stage it. The competition features the top eight teams in the ODI rankings.
The first round comprises two groups of four with the top two in each group progressing to the semi-finals and the winners contesting the final. “The event is short, sharp and highly competitive,” says the ICC.
India has not travelled to Pakistan since the Asia Cup in 2008 for multiple reasons – initially for security concerns and later for diplomatic standoff between the countries. During the Asia Cup last September, PCB, the designated host, was forced to agree to a hybrid model of two venues and India played their matches in Sri Lanka.
It will be of extreme interest how the administrators of India, Pakistan and ICC will address the issue and what will be the response of the governments, particularly India’s.
