The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah has strongly condemned the ICC Champions Trophy tour to the three cities of PoK. According to news agency ANI, Shah had expressed strong objections against the move, urging the apex body of cricket to take stern action against the PCB.
The development comes a few hours after the ICC cancelled the Champions Trophy 2025 tour in the PoK cities of Skardu, Hunza and Mazafarabad. A day ago, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had announced that the trophy tour will kick off in Islamabad on November 16 and will also travel to scenic destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad. With the region being a disputed one due to the political differences between India and Pakistan, the ICC took steps to discard the trophy tour to those regions.
Meanwhile, the ANI quoted the sources saying:
"BCCI secretary Jay Shah strongly condemns the Pakistan Cricket Board's announcement to conduct the Champions Trophy tour in PoK, reiterating India's objection to the move. Jay Shah has raised the matter with the International Cricket Council (ICC), urging the body to take appropriate action in light of the BCCI’s concerns over territorial integrity and political interference in sports"
"ICC is now BCCI because Jay Shah is set to become Chairman of ICC" - Najam Sethi
Meanwhile, former PCB chairman Najam Sethi slammed the ICC for not raising their voice against the BCCI due to the latter majority revenue for them. He said during an interview with a local channel, as quoted by CricketPakistan.pk:
"ICC is very weak and will never stand against BCCI because ICC depends on the revenue of BCCI. ICC is not ICC anymore. ICC is now BCCI because Jay Shah is set to become Chairman of ICC. Incase, Government of Pakistan contacts Narendra Modi then there is possibility that the latter would allow the Indian Cricket Team to visit Pakistan for Champions Trophy."
