With the Champions Trophy 2025 months away, a top official of the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has opened up on the prospects of the Indian cricket team’s visit to Pakistan for the mega event.
BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla has linked the team’s travel to Pakistan to the Indian government’s permission.
“No decision has been taken [yet]. But our policy is that for international tours, we always seek the permission of the government. It’s up to the government to decide whether our team should go to any country or our team should not go to any country,” said the BCCI official while speaking to the Indian media.
“In this case [also], whatever the government will decide, we will abide by that,” Shukla added.
His remarks come as Pakistan is set to host the prestigious tournament in February next year, however, India’s participation remains shrouded in ambiguity.
It is to be noted that the Men in Blue have not travelled to Pakistan since 2008 and both the historical rivals have not had any bilateral series since 2012-13.
The upcoming tournament is set to feature eight elite teams including India, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, based on their performances in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Except for India, all seven teams that will participate in the Champions Trophy have already played in Pakistan and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) believes that India has no strong reason not to come here.
Three venues — Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore — will host the matches of eight teams and according to PCB’s proposed schedule to ICC, all of India’s matches will take place in Lahore.
