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Rajeev Shukla stressed on players’ safety and hoped that the ICC would come up with a solution to conduct the Champions Trophy smoothly.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla speaks on Champions Trophy
While the suspense continues over the Champions Trophy 2025, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla hopes for an ‘amicable solution’ to which both countries – India and Pakistan – would agree. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wasn’t in favour of a hybrid model to conduct the 8-nation tournament and wanted to host it completely in their country. However, India’s strict reluctance to travel to Pakistan resulted in repeated meetings between the ICC, PCB and the BCCI.
Speaking with PTI, Shukla stressed on players’ safety and hoped that the ICC would come up with a solution to conduct the Champions Trophy smoothly.
“We [BCCI] prefer a hybrid model. But as the ICC chairman is already looking after it and is in talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board, we hope for an amicable solution with both nations [India and Pakistan] agreeing to it without any bitterness,” Shukla told PTI.
“The focus is majorly on our players’ safety and hence we cannot send them to Pakistan. We are looking for a middle ground to sort things out,” he concluded.
While the final decision is yet to be announced, it has been learned that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has offered PCB a deal to go forward with. According to the deal, Pakistan will also not travel to India for their league-stage match in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Instead, the game will be played in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
It is important to note that India and Sri Lanka are the joint hosts for the 2026 T20 World Cup. In exchange, the global body has reportedly promised Pakistan hosting rights for a Women’s ICC tournament after 2027.
While the PCB has not officially confirmed the details, it has been reported that the board is under pressure to accept the hybrid model to ensure the Champions Trophy proceeds as planned.
