The decision taken by India to not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 has reignited the tensions between the two countries.
Tensions between the two nations have increased as a result of India’s intention to skip the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan. India’s participation in the competition generated a lot of discussion, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) notified the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of India’s decision on Sunday. India had previously proposed a “hybrid” arrangement in which their national team would play the games in Dubai, but Pakistan had refused it. According to media reports, Pakistan may be considering boycotting the event or hosting it without India.
The ICC would suffer if either India or Pakistan choose not to participate in the Champions Trophy 2025. ICC has already paid $3.2 billion for broadcast rights through 2027 and anticipates receiving an additional $1 billion from other sources. Both teams have enormous fan bases, therefore their absence will significantly hurt the competition’s appeal and viewership.
Even while India continues to be ICC’s largest source of income, Pakistan’s absence may cause issues.
The Women’s World Cup in 2025, the T20 World Cup in 2026, the ICC Champions Trophy in 2029, and the Cricket World Cup in 2031 are the four international competitions that India will hold between 2024 and 2031, under the ICC calendar.
It would be a little setback to the tournament’s audience if Pakistan chose not to send a team to the events in retribution for India’s rejection of the Champions Trophy.
Due to political difficulties, the two teams haven’t played a bilateral series in almost 10 years, and they only ever play each other in international tournaments. That greatly increases the appeal of these matches, and the viewership figures clearly show that cricket fans love them.
“The importance of these fixtures was underscored by the record-breaking 173 million Indian TV viewers and 225 million digital viewers during the 2023 World Cup,” said Cricket Pakistan.
There could be an issue with the tournament’s finance even if Pakistan accepts the “hybrid” approach.
If Pakistan agrees to move India’s matches to Dubai, the teams will have to travel longer and incur additional costs. In the event that plans alter, the ICC can raise their budget, although this might lead to logistical issues for all sides, including India and Pakistan.
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