Betting on cricket in India is not legal. But if it was, one bet the betting houses would never float these days would be, ‘Will India travel to Pakistan to play a tournament?'. Can you realistically think of anyone who would be willing to bet on a ‘yes' for that one, anytime soon? Only some very optimistic people in Pakistan and the ICC, perhaps.

Before we venture further into the geo-political quagmire that the governing body of world cricket finds itself in currently, thanks to India's refusal to travel to Pakistan to play the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and Pakistan's belligerent refusal to accept a hybrid model this time, let's get a few things straight and, therefore, out of the way:

If you read the above and nodded your head in agreement, then you clearly think differently than people who govern world cricket but who seem to have forgotten the basics of current Indo-Pak cricketing relations. Strange, isn't it? After all, it was just last year when Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup. Back then, all of India's matches, including the final, were played in Sri Lanka, as part of a hybrid model. It was a model that was proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) itself (after an impasse, of course) so that they could retain hosting rights. It was the right decision for everyone involved.

There's no crystal ball that can show us what lies ahead, but eventually, this is most likely going to be the solution for the Champions Trophy next year as well. There are enough media reports indicating that back-channel talks are on between the ICC and the PCB to convince the Pakistan camp to agree to organise India's matches in the UAE. The other alternative is playing the tournament without India. But let's face it, that is just not viable, financially or otherwise.

However, why wasn't the ICC more proactive in ensuring that the PCB are fine with a hybrid model, right from the very beginning? Surely,........

© NDTV