Salman Butt backs PCB amid Champions Trophy 2025 dilemma
Salman Butt Supports PCB’s Opposition to Hybrid Model for Champions Trophy 2025
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt expressed his full support for the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to oppose the hybrid model for the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, which is set to be held in Pakistan.
The ICC has scheduled a board meeting on November 29 to discuss the tournament’s future, with options including a hybrid model, relocating the event, or postponing it.
Salman Butt, speaking to the media in Lahore, praised the PCB’s stance, saying it was the right approach. “The Champions Trophy should be held entirely in Pakistan, it is our right,” he said. “As former cricketers, we should support the PCB’s position.”
He also criticized India for refusing to travel to Pakistan for the tournament but extended a warm welcome to them if they choose to participate. “If we can tour India, they should also visit Pakistan,” Butt added. “We will welcome India here. If the whole world can visit Pakistan, so can India.”
Earlier, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi also voiced his concerns, calling India’s refusal to play in Pakistan “unacceptable” and stressing the importance of equality in cricketing relations between the two countries. “It’s not acceptable that we play in India, and they don’t come here,” Naqvi said. He emphasized that the PCB would continue to push for a fair resolution that benefits Pakistan cricket.
