The ICC Champions Trophy remains precariously poised as the PCB refuses to curtail the tournament to be played in parts of Pakistan and the BCCI vehemently refuses to let the Indian team cross the border. The BCCI wants India to play either in the UAE or Sri Lanka. It has now offered to stage all of India’s matches in Lahore. The two boards are still negotiating, but an agreement is yet to be reached, forcing the ICC to work out a contingency plan in the event of the Indian team pulling out of the tournament being staged in Pakistan.

While the ICC is not publicly talking about this issue with other cricket boards during recent meetings, internally a back-up plan is ready. As reported by Cricbuzz, the note of approval from CEC reads: “PCB has signed the Host Agreement and has collaborated with the management to come up with an event budget, expended to the F&CA committee approval. Management has also estimated an increase in the cost of staging the event if some matches need to be played outside Pakistan.”

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The note continues, “A planning meeting and inspection of proposed match venues took place in Pakistan in March 2024. At each of the three, significant renovation work is underway to upgrade the facilities.”

In numbers, other than the $35 million being spent on the actual tournament, $20 million is set to be spent in paying and distributing participation and prize monies. The ICC has also factored in $10 million with this total figure of production costs meeting to televise the 15 match and 20-day tournament.

In ICC’s draft schedule for the Champions Trophy, all of India’s matches are set to be held in Lahore, while the high-profile India-Pakistan match is scheduled for Saturday, March 1.https://t.co/ZZqKyKSOUE

— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) August 5, 2024

Already, a draft program, sent to stakeholders, including broadcasters and all participating teams, will see all of India’s matches are played in Lahore, and the highly charged India-Pakistan clash will be played first up on Saturday, March 1.

This not only shows the ICC’s proper dexterity in pleasing a lot of people but also ensures that the tournament flows on smoothly, barring any eventualities brought about by geopolitics. This PCB-BCCI standoff remains a major impasse as both are holding to their ground.

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The contingency plans of ICC indicate a proactive approach, though the further course of action would be determined by the negotiations—and the mark of flexibility—by the cricketing boards. The entire cricketing world watches anxiously as this drama gradually unfolds, hopefully to find an ending that really manages to see the ICC Champions Trophy staged.