One felt the ICC had hastily announced the deferring of the Champions Trophy to October next year and that too while retaining the same venue despite persistent reservations. Now it appears the ICC will try to have a change of heart, ensuring at least of nations’ participation while trying to assume that situations themselves will assuage concerns over security.
When ICC boldly went ahead and announced that the Champions Trophy would have to be deferred stating the lack of time involved in shifting to an alternate venue, one assumed it was rather presumptuous of the ICC to assume that the Champions Trophy would sustain interest of member nations for another year while the subject of venue continues to be hotly debated. Predictably it was not long before problems arose with the timing of the Champions Trophy in October next year clashing simultaneously with the money bonanza that would be the Champions Twenty20 League and the one day series between Australia and India. India proved one of the frontrunners who not only opposed the change of venue to Sri Lanka against Pakistan but also, of hosting the Champions Trophy next year in the month of October.
It was widely assumed the ICC had picked on another battle and hastened the process towards bringing the chapter on the Champions Trophy to a close. However, now the decision seems heavily hinged on the BCCI who must now decide on the Champions Twenty20 League as well as the one day series to declare their participation and give the tournament the much needed boost.
Flexibility appears the key word of the moment. The muscles were flexed once before with the ICC at loggerheads with the IPL honchos with the timing of the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League being staged too close to the Champions Trophy. As it turned out, the IPL (read BCCI) relented, pushed back the dates to the end of the year only to have the Champions Trophy deferred by a late ICC decision and thereby, miss the much vaunted window in the otherwise packed international calendar.
India though are taking the cautious route, and refraining from throwing out the red carpet for their own entry, insisting instead that they would like to see more member nations make similar accommodations before India will willingly make the necessary adjustments to fit in the Champions Trophy. It will involve realigning the other ‘domestic’ event – the Champions Twenty20 League as much as the series against Australia. Provided more teams are game to accommodate the Champions Trophy, the much defamed tournament will get a shot in the arm from arguably the new Mecca of cricket. That would be one less headache for the already migraine hit ICC. Now remains the tricky situation of waiting and watching how much the ICC are shooting in the dark counting on the turmoil in Pakistan to ease itself before the Champions Trophy can keep its date in the turbulent nation.
For related articles, do revisit:
India say no to Champions Trophy, Pakistan Faces Further Opposition
Money, not Bombs, Speak Louder for Some Ears
Champions Trophy Deferred; Not Scrapped
