The West indies great stated that this plan violates the significance of a global game, and will have a bad effect towards the growth of the sport. He also expressed concern about the marginalization that is possible towards the small cricketing nations.

“I think it will be terrible for all those countries who work so hard to get to Test match status and now they’ll be playing among themselves in the lower section,” Lloyd was quoted as saying in the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian.

“You could imagine they’re talking about dismantling the West Indies, that is not the way to go. The way to go is to give them (West Indies and other teams) the same amount of money so they can improve their facilities, get better systems in place so that they can improve their cricket,” the 80-year-old added.

The Sydney Morning Herald had reported that later this month ICC Chairman Jay Shah will have a meeting with the officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia Chairman Mike Baird, and England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Richard Thompson in order to go over the specifics.

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If the story is to be believed, this action comes after the record-breaking attendance of spectators during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), that featured five Test matches between India and Australia. There were a total of 837,879 spectators in stadiums, which made the BGT the most-attended non-Ashes series in the history of Australian cricket. This season of BGT was the fourth highest attended series in Australian cricket history after the Ashes series in 1936-37, 2017-18, and 2946-47.

2-tier former and its working:
According to the two-tier system, the top teams in cricket today, including India, Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand, will play against each other more frequently.
Other teams such as Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe are not known for their skills in Test cricket, and would be assigned to the second division of the format.

The teams that have not had much success in recent times like Bangladesh and West Indies may fall under this category. Though the low-tier teams will only play within their division, but the top-tier clubs will face one another in this format.

Possible teams in the structure:

1st Division:
South Africa, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakista

2nd Division:
West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

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Cricket is going to make its return to the Olympics after 128 long years as it will be played in the 2028 Los Angeles Games. However, it is not confirmed that whether the game will is confirmed for the 2032 edition in Brisbane.

The meeting was attended by Brisbane 2032 organising committee chief Cindy Hook and Cricket Australia CEO, Nick Hockley. Jay Shah shared the visuals of the meeting on his X account as he captioned the post, “Very exciting time ahead for Cricket’s involvement in the Olympics movement – a meeting with the @Brisbane_2032 organizing committee in Brisbane, Australia today.”

Very exciting time ahead for Cricket’s involvement in the Olympics movement – a meeting with the @Brisbane_2032 organizing committee in Brisbane, Australia today.@ICC | @Olympics | @CricketAus | @BCCI | #brisbane2032 pic.twitter.com/JVyMbkCYrz

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) December 12, 2024

The former BCCI secretary is going to witness the action the third Test between India and Australia, which is going to be held in Gabba from December 14.

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Apart from Jay Shah, the interim secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Devajit Saikia, is also going to be present for the third match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Jay Shah joined the ICC on December 1. Since he has joined the council, his rank of BCCI secretary has been taken over by Devajit Saikia. Both of them have reached into Australia, are are all set to spectate the action between India and Australia.

The Indian team has already reached Brisbane for the third Test match. India will face Australia after the BGT is currently levelled at 1-1 after the Adelaide Test. This Test series will be important for Indian team to secure their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will take place next year.

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Saikia, who hails from Assam and is also a former first-class cricketer has become the current joint BCCI Secretary.

Binny used his constitutional powers to appoint Saikia as acting secretary as an arrangement until a permanent secretary is appointed under BCCI rules and regulations.

“The president shall in the event of vacancy or indisposition shall delegate the functions to another office bearer until the vacancy is duly filled up or indisposition ceases,” Binny wrote to Saikia.

“Accordingly, I delegate the functions of secretary to you till the post is filled up by processes laid down as per BCCI rules and regulations. I am confident you will perform the duties to the best of your abilities and with aplomb,” Binny further wrote.

It is understood that Saikia will continue in this role till September next year before the vacancy is permanently filled up. 

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This instance is going to allow India to host a portion of matches in Dubai while being in the agreement to similar arrangements for future events until 2027.

This decision was largely finalised during an informal meeting at the ICC headquarters in Dubai between ICC president Jay Shah and Board of Directors, which also included Pakistan. Now the Champions Trophy has come out to take place in February-March next year.

Pakistan had initially gave the threat of boycotting the tournament and demanded a reciprocal hybrid model for all the events until 2031, but have now accepted ICC’s proposal of a hybrid model until 2027.

The ICC has also notably rejected PCB’s three big demands. They have apparently turned down the demand of any additional compensation. The council will also not provide any additional revenue for PCB on ICC pool. Another suggestion by the PCB has been denied, where they demanded for a Tri-series between India, Pakistan and one more team.

The post Big News: Massive Blow to Pakistan as ICC passed Verdict for Champions Trophy 2025- Hybrid Model confirmed appeared first on Cricket Country.

There was a few minute discussion held today though, where the ICC told the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to accept the hybrid model, as it is the only option left for them.

The ICC had scheduled an important meeting on December 5 to address the ongoing issues related to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The meeting was scheduled to begin 3:30 PM UAE time (5 PM IST), where newly appointed chairman Jay Shah presiding the discussions. But with a massive change of events, the ICC decided to postpone it.

Along with that, the PCB was clearly informed that the hybrid model is the only way to commence the upcoming tournament, and advised them to accept it with no additional conditions.

The ICC was initially planning to resolve the issue around the Champions Trophy 2025 by negotiating in this meeting, but the decision has only been pushed away with no official announcement to follow. The previous meeting was called off when the PCB denied to accept the proposal of the hybrid model.

After the previous ICC meetings, PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi has proposed an agreement with the BCCI and the ICC. They proposed that Pakistan would not play any matches in India for the next three years, which also includes the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, the ICC is yet to announce any official statement on Champions Trophy 2025, which is just 77 days away, and the governing body has still not released any schedule of the tournament even though a schedule is given 100 days before an event.

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With BCCI clearly refusing to let the Indian team travel to Pakistan for the ICC event and the PCB showing strong dissent over the hybrid model, the future of the Champions Trophy is still uncertain.

After taking over as the ICC Chairman, Shah made no comments on the Champions Trophy matter, however a report by Cricbuzz has now stated that the newly-appointed ICC Chairman has called for a virtual board meeting on December 5, but with no specific agenda.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that if the hybrid model is accepted then India will be playing all of their matches in Dubai. However, the PCB has also demanded that if the hybrid model does get accepted for the upcoming ICC event, then they won’t let the Pakistan team travel to India for taking part major tournaments until 2031. If this ends up happening, then reportedly their share of matches will also be played in Dubai.

The ICC reportedly asked the PCB to accept the hybrid model during an inconclusive meeting of its executive board on November 29. Though most of the ICC board members were sympathetic towards Pakistan’s situation, but PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi was, nonetheless, advised to accept the hybrid model as it is the only “plausible solution” to end the ongoing chaos regarding the tournament.

“Look, no broadcaster will give a penny to an ICC event which does not have India and even Pakistan knows that. The ICC meeting on Saturday will only happen if Mr. Mohsin Naqvi agrees with the hybrid model. If not, then ICC Board might have to shift the tournament entirely to a different country (could be UAE too) but it will be held without Pakistan” an ICC Board source told PTI.

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Jay Shah began his cricketing journey in 2009 as the district and state level, where it did not take him much time to rise through the ranks of Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA). he got elected as the BCCI secretary in 2019 as the youngest-ever secretary of the India Board.

After he took his new role, Jay Shah thanked the ICC directors and other board members for their support. He also stated that he will ensure the availability of best resources and platform for the cricketers around the world.

“I am honoured to be starting in the role of ICC Chair and want to thank the ICC Directors and Member Boards for their support and trust in me to undertake this important role. This is an exciting time for the sport as we build up to the LA28 Olympic Games and strive to make cricket more inclusive and popular than ever before. We also stand at a critical juncture in terms of the coexistence of multiple formats and accelerating the growth of the women’s game. There is huge potential for the game of cricket globally, with so much opportunity to engage with existing and new fans, while ensuring the best resources and platforms for our cricketers around the world,” he said.

There were rumours floating earlier about Jay Shah having to wait longer to get his position in ICC because of the chaos regarding Champions Trophy 2024-25. But Greg Barclay certainly stepped down from his position, resulting in Jay Shah starting his tenure apart from all the rumours.

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Shah was set to become the chairman for the global body on December 1, however according to a recent report by CricketPakistan,  the current chairman Greg Barclay’s tenure could be extended by a month.

It is suspected that one of the reasons why this step is being taken by the ICC is due to the fact that it’s Barclay who has been overseeing the Champions Trophy conundrum and it would have been tough for Jay Shah to resolve the matter soon after taking charge.

Latest reports also claim that PCB is ready to accept the hybrid model for Champions Trophy, but have also laid forward a massive demand in front of the ICC. The Pakistan Board wants the global body to ensure that all they play all ICC tournaments that will be held in India till 2031 in a hybrid model. This means that the Men in Green will be playing all their matches in a neutral venue.

 India is due to host 3 ICC men’s events in India – the 2026 T20 World Cup jointly with Sri Lanka, the 2029 Champions Trophy, and the 2031 ODI World Cup jointly with Bangladesh.

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