Mohammad Rizwan's heartfelt plea for KL Rahul and Suryakumar during Champions Trophy chaos: 'Respecting PCB's decision'

Pakistan's newly-appointed white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan has captured the hearts of fans with his warm welcome message to Indian players KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav. He has urged them to consider touring Pakistan with the entire squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy tournament in February next year. Rizwan's plea comes at a time of uncertainty surrounding the tournament, as the ICC recently informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that India will not be participating in the event if it is held in Pakistan.

Rizwan made the request to the Indian players while addressing the media at Gabba in Brisbane on Wednesday ahead of the start of the three-match T20I series against Australia, as he sounded hopeful of a quick resolve of the ongoing situation.

"KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav are all welcome. All the players who will come, we will welcome them. This is not our decision, this is PCB's decision. Whatever decision will take place, hopefully they will all discuss and take the right call. But we are hopeful that if the Indian players will come, we will welcome them," Rizwan said.

Earlier this week, ICC formally informed PCB that India would not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. PCB then consulted the Pakistan government in a bid to take firm action against India's stance, with reports hinting that they might even withdraw from the tournament as well. “If India’s participation contributes to the ICC’s revenue, the PCB’s role is equally crucial, and without Pakistan-India matches, ICC revenues would suffer significantly,” sources told Geo News.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rather requested ICC to adapt the hybrid model, which had worked successfully during the Asia Cup last year, where Pakistan were the host, but India's matches and the knockout games were staged in Sri Lanka. While the idea of Dubai was floated for India's matches during the Champions Trophy, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi quashed the possibility.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a fresh report in the PTI revealed that South Africa is being considered as a viable alternative to organise next year's Champions Trophy.

The ICC, who put the launch event for the ODI tournament on hold, after it was scheduled for November 11, is yet to respond to the PCB and was discussing the schedule with the participating teams.