Hyderabad: The Board of Control for Cricket in India has told the International Cricket Council (ICC) that the Indian team will not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy scheduled to be played next year. According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, BCCI has informed the ICC that the Indian government has advised them not to send a team to Pakistan. The tournament was supposed to be held between February 19 and March 9 but the recent development means that ICC and PCB might have to tweak the scheduling of the tournament.
Although PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi denied adopting a hybrid model, the report mentions that there are some contingency plans are chalked out for such a scenario. Out of the few countries listed, UAE is the frontrunner to host the event while Sri Lanka is also one of the options to host the competition. There has been much discussion around India’s participation in the Champions Trophy and the possibility of the tournament being played in the Hybrid model for a few months.
Great new for Indians and Indian Cricket fans.
— Kushal Jaiswal (@kushaljaiswal1) November 9, 2024
India will not travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy.
Ideally no teams should travel there but okay that’s a start.#championstrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/RLQ9tNQJtn
The tournament will feature eight teams divided into two groups of four. The semi-finals and the final will be played after the conclusion of the group stage. Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, India and South Africa will compete to lift the silverware. The scheduling of the tournament is yet to be revealed and the report mentions that it is likely to be delayed with the new development.
India has not travelled to the neighbouring country because of the tense political relations between the two countries. Also, the bilateral series between the two teams are completely on pause with the last series being played in 2012-13.
