India vs Pakistan
India vs Pakistan

The International Cricket Council has agreed to hold next year’s Champions Trophy under a hybrid format, allowing India to play a portion of the matches in Dubai while agreeing “in principle” to a similar arrangement in multilateral competitions until 2027. According to a top ICC source, the decision was almost finalized during an informal meeting on Thursday between the body’s new President Jay Shah, and the Board of Directors, which included Pakistan, at its headquarters in Dubai.

The Champions Trophy will be contested in February-March of next year. Pakistan, despite abandoning its boycott threat and agreeing to go hybrid at the previous ICC meeting last week, requested a reciprocal arrangement for itself until 2031. However, the ICC has decided to use a hybrid format for all its events until 2027.

During this time, India will host the women’s ODI World Cup in October of this year, as well as the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026 in partnership with Sri Lanka. Given the hosting arrangement, Pakistan would not have been forced to travel to India if they had refused in 2026, even if a hybrid model had not been implemented. 

Pakistan will compete in the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. The insider stated, “The compensation demanded by PCB for the Champions Trophy hybrid model is still being considered. ” Agreeing to this arrangement requires the Indian women’s team to play their league match against Pakistan at a neutral venue if the schedule requires it.

“The most essential thing is to win cricket, but everyone should be treated with respect. We will do what is best for cricket. Whichever methodology we choose, it would be on equal terms,” Pakistan Cricket Board president Mohsin Naqvi remarked following the most recent ICC meeting.

The recent development will clear the way for the release of the Champions Trophy schedule, which has been eagerly anticipated by fans and broadcasters, including Star Sports.

According to the contract between the ICC and the broadcaster, the governing body was supposed to provide the schedule of the event at least 90 days in advance, but that time has already been missed.

The channel’s representatives were in Dubai to discuss the operational procedures of the ‘Hybrid Model’ and the future schedule with Shah. However, sources say the meeting has been pushed back to Saturday.