If ever the spectrum of stakes faced by men’s international cricket teams needed to be viewed at its extremes, current events provide a vivid illustration. At one end is the imbroglio around who is prepared to play whom and where in the Champions Trophy in 2025. At the other end are the qualifying tournaments to decide who will play in the 2026 T20 and 2027 One Day World Cups.

Ever since the International Cricket Council announced in November 2021 that Pakistan would host the 2025 Champions Trophy, trouble has been brewing. The country has not hosted a global tournament since the 1996 World Cup, which it shared with India and Sri Lanka. Terrorist attacks on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai in November 2008, and directly on the Sri Lankan team’s bus in Lahore in March 2009, ensured it would be a long time before international cricket returned to Pakistan.

In preparation, the Pakistan Cricket Board and government have embarked upon a major rebuilding program of its main stadiums. Whether these will be used for the Champions Trophy remains in the balance. It never seemed likely that the Indian government would authorize its cricket team to play in Pakistan, even though Lahore was identified as the most suitable venue given its proximity to the border. The possibility was quashed in unceremonious fashion last week.

After requests from the PCB for clarification about India’s intentions, a letter was sent by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to the ICC, which formally forwarded it to the PCB. The letter confirmed what most people had long anticipated: India will not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. In turn, the PCB sought advice from its government. Immediately, it dug its heels in, rejecting a compromise situation that has been used before — a hybrid model. This would see India playing its matches in a neutral location, possibly the UAE.

Previous compromise situations differ from this one. Pakistan is the nominated host. Since 2021, there have been at least 10 ICC board meetings. There is no report which indicates that concerns were raised about security issues and Pakistan is investing heavily in the event. Although it is understood the tournament budget has a provision for partial relocation of matches, Pakistan stands to lose significant, much-needed income from hosting, rumored to be $65 million.

India’s reasoning for not authorizing travel to Pakistan is on security grounds, which has riled the PCB. Security visits undertaken by ICC representatives have been positive. It is understood the PCB has a “master security plan,” shared with the BCCI on Oct. 10 and which does not appear to have faced any objections at the ICC’s October board meeting. The PCB is keen to show that Pakistan’s insecure reputation is in the past. It points to the fact that England, Australia and New Zealand have all toured there recently without incident.

Relations with India are of course different, based on deep-seated acrimony and tensions. These factors have been encapsulated in confusion over exactly where in Pakistan the actual trophy will be displayed on its tour of participating countries. The PCB had announced visits to cities in what India refers to as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The ICC was very quick to reject this itinerary and announced an amended one.

Currently, the ICC is in a state of management change. On Dec. 1 it will have a new chair, Jay Shah, who has been secretary of the BCCI since 2019. It is understood he raised strong objections with the ICC on the PCB’s plans to take the trophy tour to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. There do not seem to have been any comments from the outgoing ICC chair and, in this hiatus, the ICC is receiving blame for not being sufficiently pro-active.

It is between a rock and a hard place. India now has so much power in global cricket that, without its participation in major ICC events, commercial success would be significantly diminished. India can refuse to play in Pakistan, but if Pakistan refused to play in an ICC tournament it could be hit with ICC sanctions. No wonder Pakistan feels hard done by. Furthermore, the original release date of the tournament schedule has been delayed, hindering PCB’s organizational planning.

Shah’s position is an anomalous one. It feels as if he is writing letters to himself — as BCCI secretary to his future self as ICC chair, and another as incoming ICC chair to the PCB warning it not to upset his previous employers. So much for the ICC role being designated as independent.

No doubt he would have wanted the Champions Trophy issues to have been resolved before Dec. 1. The options seem to be that: a) Pakistan relents and agrees to the hybrid model; b) the event is moved out of Pakistan, with compensation for them, but huge loss of face; c) the tournament is postponed. In the latter case, there is the significant issue of media contracts not being fulfilled.

The Champions Trophy seems to be a tournament which generates more problems than positives. It is not so much the case with world cups.

These are tournaments in which ICC members aspire to play. Qualifying pathways, though complex, are delineated. Last week, six teams battled in Group B of the Challenger Cup in Uganda as part of the route to the 2027 ODI World Cup. They have two more round robin events to complete before the top two teams emerge. Currently, Uganda and Italy top the pile.

This week, seven teams compete in Qatar for the right to progress towards the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. One is Saudi Arabia, which is pitted against Qatar, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, Thailand and the UAE. The top two will progress to a regional final in August 2025. The gulf between the dreams of these teams and the geopolitics of the India-Pakistan stand-off is stark. India’s brinkmanship and Pakistan’s intransigence have combined to stretch the stakes to breaking point.

RIYADH: Opener Abdul Waheed went through a bittersweet experience as his maiden T20I century proved in vain as Saudi Arabia lost to Bahrain in their first match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier B in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

Waheed, who almost single-handedly led Saudi Arabia’s chase of 189 runs, was caught out on the last ball as the Kingdom ended three runs short of Bahrain’s total. Saudi Arabia ended on 185-9 in reply to Bahrain’s 188-5 in 20 overs.

Saudi Arabia needed 11 runs to win off Bahrain player Imran Anwar’s last over, with Waheed off the strike. Usman Najeeb ran a bye to give the talisman his chance. Waheed then ran a couple on the second ball. Anwar then bowled two dots in the next two balls as Waheed felt the pressure.

With eight required off the last two balls, Waheed scored a boundary on the penultimate ball. But his shot on the final ball failed to beat the fielder and Saudi ended up losing the match. Anwar, under pressure, bowled a full toss that Waheed clobbered toward the long-off region but it failed to clear the boundary.

Waheed’s innings ended on 110 runs, which included eight fours and seven sixes. After being dismissed for 99 earlier in February against Cambodia, Waheed finally reached his ton, despite his side failing to register victory.

Saudi had earlier invited Bahrain to bat first at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium. Skipper Haider Ali stood tall for Bahrain as he hammered 67 not out off 51 balls to take the team to 188-5, hitting six fours and two maximums in the process.

Imran Anwar set the tone for the team with 53 off 35 balls, which included two fours and four sixes. Haider and Anwar shared a 95-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just 66 balls. Ishtiaq Ahmad and Usman Najeeb took two wickets each for Saudi Arabia.

Chasing an impressive total, Saudi Arabia kept losing wickets at regular intervals, but Waheed maintained the pace until the end. Vice captain Abdul Manan Ali was the next main contributor with 25 runs off 19 balls.

Manan Ali and Waheed put on 61 runs for the fourth wicket, but Waheed kept running out of partners. Ali Dawood, Imran Khan, and Imran Anwar took two wickets each for Bahrain, with Anwar taking the prized wickets of Manan Ali and Waheed.

Waheed, speaking to Arab News after the match, was disappointed not to have crossed the finish line but was not too downhearted.

He said: “I had the self-belief that if I could take the match to the end, we could win.

“Even though there was no strong support from the other end apart from Manan, I knew the chase was possible. I saw the scoreboard when we needed around 40 runs and knew one big over would bring the match to our side. We got 16 runs from the 18th over, and I completed my century too.

“I know 18 runs in the last two overs were possible, but it’s unfortunate we couldn’t do it. There were some difficult balls to play, but we didn’t execute our plans there.

“The first four balls in the last over were really good. After I hit a four on the fifth ball, there was a belief I could hit the last one too.

“The last ball was the easiest of the match, and I hit it well too. (It was) bad luck — the wind was against the play, and the long-on fielder held on to the catch.”

Waheed believes there were lessons to be learned, not just for him but the whole squad after five new players featured within their ranks.

He added: “I took the match to the end expecting to finish, but the support was not there.

“If I am in a similar situation next time, I will try to finish it two or three balls earlier so there’s less pressure. Other players in the team also understood how important it is to support a set batter in the middle.”

Waheed said he was too focused on the game to celebrate his milestone, adding: “I was just looking at the per-over economy rather than enjoying the century.

“Individual scores don’t mean anything if the team doesn’t win. I would swap it if it meant the team would win. Yes, a little bit of happiness is there for the milestone, but the team losing hurts more.”

Waheed is nevertheless confident that the team are capable of turning the tables in their upcoming matches. Saudi Arabia face the UAE on Wednesday, and he believes it could represent a good chance of victory.

He said: “We have a good batting unit this time, with batters who can come in at eight or nine and hit big. But we lack experience. There are five new players in the team and they learned a good lesson today.

“I have been playing for 12 years and have faced big teams. Those matches have prepared me to face bigger challenges. We have good batters and they just need to express themselves now.

“The UAE is our next opponent. We came up with extra plans this time to not just participate but to win as well. We knew matches would be close and if we win against the UAE it will open doors. We are focused on the tournament.”

In other matches on Tuesday, the UAE defeated Bhutan by 63 runs, while Qatar beat Thailand by five wickets.

Seven nations are taking part in the tournament with hosts Qatar joined by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, Thailand, and the UAE. The top two teams from the qualifier will compete in the Asia-East Asia-Pacific regional final, which is a pathway for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in 2026.

Malaysia and Kuwait have already qualified for the regional final from the Asia Group A qualifier, while Samoa and Japan are representing in the East Asia-Pacific A and East Asia-Pacific B qualifiers, respectively.

Nepal, Oman, and Papua New Guinea have also qualified for the regional finals.