Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has voiced his dissatisfaction with the ongoing controversy regarding the hosting of the ICC 2025 Champions Trophy, particularly criticizing the role of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
In a recent interview with a local news channel, Akhtar expressed his support for the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) demand for a larger share of revenue.
“You are getting paid for hosting rights and revenue, and that’s fine — we all understand it. Pakistan’s stance is also reasonable. They should have maintained a strong position, why not? Once we are able to host the Champions Trophy in our country and they are unwilling to come, they should share the revenue with us at a higher rate. That’s a good call,” Akhtar said.
Akhtar also expressed his desire of witnessing Pakistan team beating arch-rivals India at latter’s home ground.
"In terms of playing in India in the future, we should extend a hand of friendship and go there. My belief has always been, go to India and defeat them there. Play in India and beat them on their home ground," he remarked.
It is pertinent to mention here that the upcoming Champions Trophy is at a standstill following BCCI’s refusal to send its team to Pakistan, while PCB remained firm on their stance of opposing the hybrid model for the eight-team tournament.
However, in the latest turn of events, a new model, dubbed as ‘partnership formula’, is under consideration to end the deadlock between PCB and BCCI.
As per the new formula, Pakistan will also not play their matches in India during ICC events for next three years. Dubai is most likely to be the neutral venue for both the teams as per the expected new agreement.
India is scheduled to host three ICC events during this time period, including Women's World Cup 2025, co-hosting of T20 World Cup 2026 with Sri Lanka and Champions Trophy 2027.
Details further shared that the apex cricketing body has advised the BCCI to accept the aforementioned model, in a bid to avoid legal action by Pakistan and also to resolve the issue without voting.
If the proposed formula gets mutually agreed upon then there may not be a need for the board meeting and the apex cricketing body will communicate the development with the board members.
