Jay Shah is son of India’s house minister Amit Shah. Because the ICC chief, Jr Shah must persuade his father’s govt to alter stance on permitting India to go to Pakistan for Champions Trophy in Feberuary.
The incoming chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Jay Shah will be under pressure once he takes office in December to force his country India to visit Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy in February. In simple terms, he needs to convince his father Amit Shah, who is India’s Home Minister, to make the first ICC event under his charge a grand one or rather make the mission impossible, possible.
So far, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has maintained that it will follow the government’s directive. As things stand, the Government of India is in no mood to relent. To make things worse for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the BCCI hasn’t even requested the Govt of India to reconsider its position. Hence, it will now be on Jay Shah to convince his father Amit Shah to do otherwise.
“There has been no discussion regarding Champions Trophy. Our stance is clear. We will follow what the government says. It is not in our hands. I can understand that it will be a difficult task for Jay Shah since he will be the ICC chief. But he understands the concern and we expect India’s matches to be shifted to a neutral venue. As ICC chief, he will have to change his father or the govt’s position,” a BCCI official told InsideSport.
Can the new BCCI secretary take a call?
The answer is no. Whether India should visit Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy is not on the BCCI. Whether the incoming BCCI secretary, who will replace Jay Shah, is in favour or not, he or she will have to follow the government’s directive. There is no two-way about it. BCCI has been pushing for a neutral venue for India’s matches as it did for the Asia Cup.
“See, without India, it will be very difficult for the ICC to conduct an event. We want the event to continue. It is good for cricket but the stance is clear. We have already asked the ICC to consider moving India’s matches to a neutral venue, keeping Pakistan as host. And we will continue to do so if we don’t get a green signal from the GoI,” the BCCI official added.
Will India visit Pakistan for ICC Champions Trophy?
India last visited Pakistan in 2008 during Asia Cup. As things stand, there is a lot of diplomatic tension between India and Pakistan. Hence, the Indian govt may not allow it. But considering India will host the Women’s World Cup 2025, Asia Cup 2025, and T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan could retaliate.
In the past, Pakistan threatened to boycott the ODI World Cup in India. With PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi set to become the next Asian Cricket Council chief, it will be another tension. He could be against India hosting the Asia Cup 2025. In any case, there could be repercussions even though the PCB does not hold sway over global cricket any more.
However, despite the ongoing tension in the border regions, things could change positively next month. Islamabad will host the SCO Summit with government heads in October and the Pakistan govt has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the Indian govt has not responded to the invitation yet if PM Modi decides to accept the invitation, that could send a positive signal to the ICC as well.
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