 "India and Pakistan have met only in ICC tournaments since 2012. Reuters")
The BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has reiterated that a final decision on if India will travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy next year will depend on approval from the Indian government. Pakistan are slated to host the eight-team showpiece tournament from 19 February and 9 March in 2025.
India have not travelled to Pakistan since 2008 in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, where more than 150 people were killed. The two teams have since faced off in only ICC tournaments as well as the Asia Cups, barring a bilateral series in India in 2012, where the two teams played two T20Is and three ODIs.
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‘No decision taken yet’
“No decision has been taken (yet). But our policy is that for international tours, we always seek the permission of the government. It’s up to the government to decide whether our team should go to any country or our team should not go to any country,” Shukla told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing India vs Bangladesh Test in Kanpur. “In this case (also), whatever the government will decide, we will abide by that,” added Shukla.
Pakistan did travel to India for the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they were knocked out in the league stage. However, there are speculations that India will not travel to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy. The BCCI might even request the ICC to shift the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan and conduct the tournament in either Sri Lanka or Dubai.
The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup was held in a hybrid model, with all of India’s matches taking place in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka hosted nine matches (Including the final), whereas Pakistan hosted four. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, have strongly opposed moving the Champions Trophy out of the country.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPakistan all-rounder Hasan Ali had recently said that should India not travel to Pakistan , then the tournament should proceed without the Men in Blue. The ICC, however, has said that it won’t persuade a member board to go against government policy.