LAHORE – The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already submitted draft dates to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. However, it is uncertain whether the Indian cricket team will travel to Pakistan next year to participate in the tournament.
PCB officials are more optimistic this time, asserting that the Indian team will indeed come to Pakistan.
Indian media maintains that their team will not travel to Pakistan, with no discussion between ICC and BCCI about tournament details.
The BCCI states that India will only visit Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy in February if permitted by the Indian government, conditional on their first visit to Pakistan in 17 years. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi hopes the ICC Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan in February with India participating.
After participating in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados, Mohsin Naqvi spoke to the media in Lahore, stating he won’t comment on India’s participation in the Champions Trophy, but it would be good news.
He added that before the Champions Trophy, Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi stadiums need upgrades while Australia is also a good option for a cricket series.
In 2008, the Indian team last visited Karachi for the Asia Cup, while Pakistan played matches in Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata in October 2023 for the World Cup.
However, Indian media claims their team won’t travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy starting from February 19 to March 9, despite PCB announcing tournament dates on Friday.
“It is highly unlikely that the Indian team will travel to Pakistan,” according to reports in the Indian media, which also suggest that details of the tournament between ICC and BCCI have not yet been discussed.
Ultimately, the decision depends on the Indian government, but PCB intends to raise the issue at the ICC meeting in Sri Lanka next month, where Mohsin Naqvi will participate.
At present, the BCCI is led by BJP leader Jay Shah, although final decisions on this matter will be made by the Modi government.
