SYDNEY (Kashmir English): Pakistan-India tensions have prompted cricket bosses to discuss contingencies and it is likely that Champions Trophy 2029 and World Cup 2031 may be shifted to Australia from India.
The spillover of geopolitical tensions between Pakistan and India into cricket has prompted the International Cricket Council (ICC) to consider shifting the hosting of major future events from India to Australia, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
As per the publication, Australia could be considered as an alternative host for the ICC Champions Trophy 2029 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2031 — both of which are currently scheduled to be hosted by India and co-hosted by Bangladesh.
The report comes against the backdrop of controversy that surrounded the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, where Pakistan had initially announced a boycott of its February 15 group-stage match against arch-rivals India in solidarity with Bangladesh. They were removed from the tournament after refusing to travel to India, citing security concerns.
However, following high-level deliberations involving the Pakistan Cricket Board, ICC representatives and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Pakistan ultimately approved the national team’s participation in the India fixture — a decision apparently taken to avert a potential financial loss of $250 million had Pakistan withdrawn.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have remained high, with the Asia Cup 2024 becoming the first major tournament since the two nuclear-armed countries went to war in May 2025.
During that tournament as well as in a recent T20 World Cup fixture, the Indian players and their captain refrained from the customary post-match handshake with their Pakistani counterparts.
In December 2024, the PCB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) agreed to a so-called “hybrid model” for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which was hosted by Pakistan.
Under the understanding, both nations agreed not to play ICC events hosted by the other country and instead contest their matches at neutral venues during the 2024–2027 rights cycle.
Last Pakistan-India series was in 2012–13
The two nations now meet only in ICC multi-nation events. The last bilateral series between the two countries was played in 2012–13, when Pakistan toured India.
For more than a decade, India has barred its national team from touring Pakistan for bilateral cricket due to political tensions.
Against this backdrop, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that persistent issues arising from strained relations between the two nuclear-armed rivals and also prominent cricketing nations have prompted global cricket administrators to hold broader contingency discussions, including the identification of backup venues to avoid disruption to major tournaments.
