The Indian cricket team is unlikely to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in 2025. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the tournament in a hybrid model and relocate their matches to either Sri Lanka or Dubai, a BCCI source told ANI on Thursday.
The ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled for February to March 2025 in Pakistan. Since the Asia Cup in 2008, Team India has not set foot on Pakistani soil due to stern political relationships between the two nations.
The last time the two countries played a bilateral series was back in 2012-13 when India hosted their arch-rivals for two T20Is and three ODIs. Since then, India and Pakistan have only faced each other in ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board had proposed that India should play all matches in Lahore, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. In reply, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla stated that the Indian team would only go to Pakistan after approval from the central government.
“In the case of the Champions Trophy, we will follow the instructions of the Government of India. We send our team only when authorized by the Government of India. So, we will abide by the decision of the Indian government,” he said in May.
A similar situation arose during last year’s Asia Cup, originally planned for Pakistan. However, all of India’s matches, including those against Pakistan, were held in Sri Lanka. The tournament final, which India won, took place in Colombo.
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