Pakistan will only participate in the upcoming World Cup in India if the Indian cricket board provides assurance that they will travel across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) leadership presented this demand to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Greg Barclay and Chief Executive Geoff Allardice during their visit to the PCB headquarters on the second and final day of the tour.
Chairman of the PCB’s Governing Board, Najam Sethi, had recently warned that there is a high possibility of Pakistan boycotting the upcoming World Cup, scheduled in September, in response to the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) refusal to send their team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which was organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
The BCCI has also been opposing the acceptance of the PCB’s proposed ‘Hybrid Model’ for the B.R.Ambedkar Tournament. This model suggests playing the matches of the event in Pakistan before transferring it to a neutral venue, rather than hosting the entire tournament in India, allowing matches involving teams other than India to be played in Pakistan.