Champions Trophy should not be held in Pakistan: Rashid Latif

Former captain of the national cricket team Rashid Latif has said, "The Champions Trophy should not be held in Pakistan now. Before the International Cricket Council (ICC) forbids it, you should refuse it yourself."

Speaking at an Urdu conference in Karachi on Monday, the former captain said, "The ICC and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are merged; they got the opportunity to play with Pakistan, we should not go so low and host the Champions Trophy now. It is good for us that we are fighting our case, but I am not sure where we will stand if India boycotts the mega event."

"Stadiums are being built with billions of rupees, billions of rupees need to be spent at the grassroots level, attention also needs to be paid to women's cricket, it is our tragedy that there is no women's cricket stadium in Pakistan," he said.

He further added, "Mushtaq Muhammad was the greatest captain of the Pakistan cricket team; he made captains and players; Javed Miandad is a shadow of Mushtaq Muhammad."

Rashid Latif stressed the importance of focusing on club cricket. He said, "A player with good experience in club cricket can be a good captain. If you do not invest in grassroots cricket, there will be no benefit. If you do not focus on grassroots cricket, you will not get talent like Wasim Akram and Javed Miandad."

Earlier,  the overdue International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting regarding the hosting of the Champions Trophy was postponed once again.

The meeting, which was scheduled for today, was to be held between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the ICC, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to decide on matters concerning the hosting of the upcoming tournament and its schedule.

Geo, however, reported that the ICC meeting on the Champions Trophy has been deferred yet again.

The Indian Cricket Board was expected to respond to the ICC after consulting with its government regarding Pakistan's demands, which included playing in the rival's country. However, there has been no response from the BCCI.

Pakistan's conditions concern the Indian board, with Pakistan sticking to its firm stance on hosting all matches in their country, which has left the final plans undecided while the tournament is only two months away. The matters are in the final stages, but the meeting would be pointless without a response to Pakistan's demands.

The ICC meetings related to the Champions Trophy have now been postponed twice, mainly due to Pakistan's strong stance on hosting and India's traditional stubbornness.