Islamabad-New Delhi tensions may prompt ICC to 'shift future events from India' to Australia

• Pak-India tensions prompt cricket bosses to discuss contingencies.
• Australia may be considered to host Champions Trophy 2029.
• World Cup 2031 may also be shifted to Australia from India.

In the wake of the spillover of geopolitical tensions between Pakistan and India into cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) may 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 uncertainty 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, who were removed from the tournament after refusing to travel to India, citing security concerns.

However, following requests by friendly countries and high-level deliberations involving the Pakistan Cricket Board, ICC representatives and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Islamabad ultimately approved the national team’s participation in the India fixture — a decision taken to avert a potential financial loss of $250 million had Pakistan withdrawn.

Tensions between the two neighbours have remained elevated, with the Asia Cup 2024 becoming the first major tournament since the two nuclear-armed countries went to war in May 2025, a conflict that eventually ended after mediation by the United States.

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.

However, friction between the two countries on the cricketing front predates the May 2025 conflict.

In December 2024, the PCB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India agreed to a so-called “hybrid model” for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which was hosted by Pakistan.

Under the arrangement, both teams 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.

The arch-rivals now meet only in ICC multi-nation events. The last bilateral series between the two sides was played in 2012–13, when Pakistan toured India. 

For more than a decade, New Delhi has barred its national team from touring Pakistan for bilateral cricket due to political tensions.

Against this backdrop, The Sydney Morning Herald, citing two sources, reported that persistent issues arising from strained relations between the two 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.

Australia, in this context, has previously hosted high-profile Pakistan–India World Cup matches, including during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

A crowd of 41,587 attended the 2015 match at the Adelaide Oval, while 90,293 spectators were present at the fixture held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2022.