New Delhi [India]The Indian team will not tour Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and will request the International Cricket Council to host the match in Sri Lanka or Dubai, a BCCI source told ANI.
The ICC Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan next year in February-March 2025. India has not hosted a cricket tournament in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup due to tensions between India and Pakistan.
The final bilateral match between the two countries was played in India in December 2012 and January 2013. Since then, the two countries have only faced each other in ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup.
The relationship between the two countries has cast a shadow of uncertainty over India’s participation in future events.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has approached India about hosting all its matches in one city – ESPNcricinfo reported that Lahore has been chosen as the location for India to play all its matches – but the Indian board is not interested in touring Pakistan.
Talking about India’s participation in the BCCI, the official told ANI, “India is not going to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. We will tell the ICC to hold the match in Dubai or Sri Lanka.”
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla had said in May that the Indian team would be sent to play in Pakistan only if the central government gave its permission.
“Regarding the Champions Trophy, we will follow whatever the Indian government instructs us to do. We will send a team only if the Indian government allows us to. We will abide by the Indian government’s decision,” Shukla told ANI.
A similar incident occurred during last year’s Asia Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Pakistan.
However, the PCB was forced to adopt a hybrid strategy during last year’s Asia Cup with all of India’s matches, including the one against Pakistan, being played in Sri Lanka.
The final of the tournament, won by India, was played in Colombo. Pakistan had hinted at the possibility of participating in the ODI World Cup in India in a hybrid format the previous year, but the idea was never considered.
Pakistan are the defending champions of the Champions Trophy, which was last held in 2017.
This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
