Not even thinking about possibility of Champions Trophy going out of Pakistan, says PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi

The PCB chief stated that the board is not even considering the possibility of next year’s Champions Trophy being moved out of his country despite there being constant talks of the hosting rights to be removed from Pakistan.

In a press conference on Monday (March 18), during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 final, Naqvi confirmed that he spoke with BCCI secretary Jay Shah on the sidelines of the ICC meetings in Dubai last week. However, he didn’t divulge the details of their discussion.

Naqvi said, “Yes we spoke for a while and it was cordial but it would be unwise to divulge details of what was discussed.” On being asked if India’s reluctance to travel to Pakistan would lead to the marquee tournament being shifted out of Pakistan, the newly-appointed PCB chairman said, “I am not even thinking on those lines. We are confident we will host the Champions Trophy on schedule in Pakistan.”

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Further, Naqvi revealed that the three stadiums in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi will host majority of the games in the Champions Trophy, regarded as the mini ODI World Cup, and the stadiums will also be renovated.

“Even as I speak plans have been drawn up and work will begin soon on these three stadiums to give the fans the best experience of watching the matches at the venues,” he added.

It is to be noted that the Babar Azam-starrer Pakistan cricket team are the defending champions, having won the last edition of the ICC event in 2017 in England and Wales. Back then, the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Men in Green thrashed Virat Kohli’s India by 180 runs to win the CT 2017 final at The Oval, London.