A video of controversial Indian anchor Arnab Goswami with Pakistani journalist Hafiz Imran is going viral amid the ongoing issue of the Champion Trophy 2025.
An Indian journalist invited Pakistani journalist Hafiz Imran to his programme on Republic TV to discuss the matter of the Champions Trophy. Goswami claimed, “We [India] are the bosses of cricket. You should understand that you do not have enough money to control India. If the Indian Prime Minister says that we will not fund Pakistani cricket, then the entire cricket of Pakistan will be destroyed. This is the truth that you will have to accept. You are trying to fight us, but you cannot.”
Hafiz Imran responded to the Indian anchor, saying, “You are not the boss. You have no choice but to look at us. It is a big misunderstanding among you people that India funds the International Cricket Council (ICC). If India funds the ICC, does it come from India versus India? It is not like that. Rather, this revenue comes from India playing with Pakistan, England, Australia, Bangladesh, and other countries.”
He added, “If you are so proud of your market, then you should create a separate world and separate yourself from the rest of the world. Say that we will only play cricket among ourselves. India A will play with Maharashtra; we will play with UP; we will play with Mumbai and Delhi.”
Indian journalists kept interrupting Hafiz Imran’s answer, but the Pakistani journalist continued with his response and said, “You asked the question, then listen to the answer, which is the truth. When you are playing cricket with the world, all the cricket boards are business partners; everyone plays cricket and earns money, and your industry is running because of us.”
When the Pakistani journalist was repeatedly interrupted by the Indian journalist, he said, “If you don’t like the answer, I have a solution for that too. The Indian media tells the public the wrong thing: that we fund [ICC]; this is not funding but a business partnership, and everyone takes their share. You go to a businessman and ask him if you can earn money if you are playing alone, but the problem is that you don’t want to hear the truth.”
The Indian media is propagating that the Champions Trophy will be played under a hybrid model at the behest of the Indian Cricket Board and that India’s matches will be held in Dubai. The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, however, has made it clear to the ICC and India that the Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan and that no hybrid model is acceptable.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written a letter to the ICC and has also sought written reasons for India’s refusal to come to Pakistan.