Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has raised strong objection with the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) plans to promote the Champions Trophy in the country. PCB had planned on initiating a trophy tour across regions in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). A day after the Pakistan board shared their plans for the tour on social media, the BCCI secretary swiftly swung into action and raised the matter with the global cricket body.
“Jay Shah has objected to that tweet [post] and has criticised and condemned PCB’s plan to take the trophy to PoK cities. Additionally, PCB has no business sharing the schedule because it has to come from the ICC. Things need to be done appropriately, via appropriate channels,” says a source aware of developments.
PCB had shared the plan on social media on Thursday (November 14) and mentioned the cities of Skardu, Hunza and Mazafarabad, which fall in the territory of PoK.
“Get ready, Pakistan! The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 trophy tour kicks off in Islamabad on 16 November, also visiting scenic travel destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad. Catch a glimpse of the trophy which Sarfaraz Ahmed lifted in 2017 at The Oval, from 16-24 November,” read the PCB post on social media.
ICC cancels key event for Champions Trophy amid scheduling dispute over India matches
It is further understood that the ICC were caught off guard by PCB’s announcement as they were yet to finalise the plan for the tour. The moment it would have been finalised, the global body would have shared the updates via appropriate ICC channels.
As TimesofIndia.com had reported last week, India have already said no to playing their Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan. The global body was supposed to announce the tournament schedule on November 11 but there is no clarity yet as the Indian cricket board wants to play their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai.