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Amid the dispute between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, Indian intelligence agencies have issued a detailed dossier on Pakistan’s involvement in supporting and harbouring terrorist groups on its turf.
The BCCI had recently ruled out the possibility of sending the Indian team to Pakistan for the tournament and the dossier, which according to India Today is a comprehensive report outlining terrorist activities carried out by Pakistan-based groups that have the government’s backing, serves to support the board’s stance.
The BCCI has remained firm on its stance of India playing its matches at a neutral venue that would lead to the Champions Trophy following the ‘Hybrid Model’ that had been implemented in last year’s Asia Cup. The Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB, however, has categorically refused to accept the ‘Hybrid Model’ and remains firm on its stance of the entire tournament taking place in Pakistan .
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Relations between the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours have been frosty ever since they gained independence from Britain in 1947, and cross-border terrorism carried out by outfits based in and supported by Pakistan in addition to political tensions have only made things worse.
Thanks to BCCI’s considerable influence on the cricketing world due to its financial power, the tournament is expected to be moved entirely out of Pakistan if the PCB refuses to relent from its original stance, with the UAE being considered a strong candidate to take over hosting duties.
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India have not toured Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup and with relations between the two nations reaching an all-time low following the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, have severed all bilateral cricketing ties with their neighbours.
The last time Men in Blue had faced Pakistan in a bilateral series in any format was in the 2012-13 season when the latter visited India for two T20Is and three ODIs. Since then, the two arch-rivals have faced each other only in ICC events as well as in the Asia Cup.