Rohit Sharma could attend ICC Champions Trophy opening ceremony in Pakistan: Report

Despite the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refusing to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, which resulted in the tournament being played in a 'Hybrid Model' with the Men in Blue playing all of their matches in Dubai , captain Rohit Sharma might attend the tournament’s opening ceremony in Lahore.

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According to IANS, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is aiming to host a grand opening ceremony at Lahore’s Gaddafi on 16 or 17 February, shortly before defending champions Pakistan take on New Zealand in the opening game in Karachi. Captains of all the participating teams are to be present in the opening ceremony, as is the custom across ICC events, meaning Rohit could be boarding a flight to Pakistan for the first time in nearly 17 years.

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“Indian Team captain will visit Pakistan to attend the opening ceremony of the Champions Trophy as PCB plans a grand event, marking the return of a mega international cricket event to Pakistan after 29 years,” sources told the IANS.

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Rohit was part of the Indian team that had finished runners-up in the 2008 Asia Cup in Pakistan, losing the final against Sri Lanka at Karachi’s National Stadium. It remains the last time the Men in Blue had toured their neighbouring country as security concerns and political tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours has resulted in India and Pakistan not meeting each other outside ICC and Asian events.

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India had also refused to visit Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup that the latter was supposed to host, resulting in the ODI event being played in a ‘Hybrid Model’ in which a majority of fixtures were moved to Sri Lanka.

The upcoming Champions Trophy will be the first ICC event taking place in Pakistan since the 1996 World Cup, in which India and Sri Lanka were co-hosts and the final was played in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.