Champions Trophy 2025: Virat Kohli and India are 'dying' to play in Pakistan, claims Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has made a bizarre claim, stating that Virat Kohli and his Indian team are “dying” to travel to Pakistan for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. India have refused to travel to Pakistan for next year’s tournament after failure to get clearance from the Indian government.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on the other hand, were reluctant at agreeing to a hybrid model at first but have reportedly accepted the model, although some conditions have been set. The conditions set by PCB included asking the ICC to implement the same in future tournaments in India, which India have reportedly rejected.

“India is dying more than Pakistan to play in Pakistan. Virat Kohli would probably be dying to play in Pakistan. I know what is happening. If India vs Pakistan lands, TV rights sponsorships is going to hit the roof. Let me tell you tell you. They are not coming because of the government,” Akhtar said on PTV Sports.

The Rawalpindi Express predicted that India would play a full-fledged series in Pakistan in a year or two. “BCCI, Jay Shah want it (to send Indian team to Pakistan). But the current situation is not ideal. Backdoor diplomacy continues but our relationship isn’t there yet. Once it’s there, they will come. I will predict that within a year or two, India will play a full series in Pakistan," claimed Akhtar.

Akhtar also said that it was impossible for the Champions Trophy to be held without India. “Can you do Champions Trophy without India? Logically, practically, financially? You can’t," he opined.

India have not traveled to Pakistan since 2008, when the Asia Cup was held in the country. Pakitan’s last tour to India was in 2023 for the ODI World Cup. Pakistan missed out on reaching the semi-finals after finishing fifth.
An ICC meeting has been reportedly scheduled for Thursday (5 December) and this will be the first meeting since Jay Shah took over as ICC chairman on 1 December.