Pakistan are gearing up to host the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in February 2025, marking its return to hosting a major international cricket tournament after eight years.
Pakistan’s historic hosting of the Champions Trophy 2025
The top seven ranked ODI teams, along with Pakistan as the host nation, will compete in this prestigious event. This will be Pakistan’s first time solely hosting a global cricket tournament since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team. The last major tournament held in Pakistan was the 1996 Cricket World Cup, co-hosted with India and Sri Lanka.
India’s participation uncertainty
Despite the excitement surrounding the tournament, there is significant uncertainty regarding India’s participation due to ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.
India have not played in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup, and the last bilateral series between the two nations was in January 2013. Since then, their encounters have been limited to ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian government have expressed reservations about sending the Indian team to Pakistan.
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BCCI’s stance put forward by Rajiv Shukla
While there were reports suggesting that the BCCI might request the ICC to adopt a hybrid model, allowing the Indian team to play their matches in Sri Lanka or Dubai, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla recently dismissed these claims. He stated that no decision regarding India’s participation or the location of their matches has been finalized by the Indian cricket board or the government.
“We do not know which source gave such information. BCCI has not put out any official information regarding this,” Shukla was quoted as saying by the Print.
Also READ: PCB proposes an exclusive venue for all of India’s matches in Champions Trophy 2025
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