“We were delighted with support and hospitality,” Fakhar Zaman admits he will miss playing in India during future ICC events

India and Pakistan have reached an agreement to not play in each other's countries during ICC events.

Veteran Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman on Wednesday (January 15) said that he will miss playing in India during future ICC tournaments.

Notably, the deadlock over the hosting model of the Champions Trophy 2025 was broken last month, with an agreement between the ICC, PCB and BCCI that the marquee India versus Pakistan matches in global events will be played at neutral venues till 2027.

After months of uncertainty, the United Arab Emirates was chosen as the neutral venue for the upcoming Champions Trophy where India’s matches will take place.

Furthermore, the ICC has adopted a hybrid model for mega events in India till 2027, which means Pakistan will also be able to play their matches at a neutral venue.

Speaking to Sports Tak, Fakhar shared his views on the agreement and admitted that they will miss playing in India in future ICC events but expressed excitement about facing India in Dubai during the Champions Trophy next month.

“Yes, we will definitely miss (playing in India) as we enjoyed a lot during our visit there for the ODI World Cup 2023. We were delighted with the kind of support and the hospitality we got there. The locals gave us a warm welcome when we went to Hyderabad for the first time, they all showered their love on us. Yes, we will miss it all. If India had come to Pakistan, we wouldve given them an even grander welcome and hospitality but they are not coming. Its fine, but were excited to play against them in Dubai," Fakhar said.

The cricketing ties between India and Pakistan have been fraught with political and security issues since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

While the arch-rivals last played a limited-overs series in 2012, their last meeting in the Test format was way back in 2007. In this period, they've only clashed in multi-nation tournaments such as the World Cup and the Asia Cup.

Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup last year but India played all of their matches in Sri Lanka under the hybrid model.

The Champions Trophy 2025 is slated to get underway on February 19 in Karachi with the Pakistan versus New Zealand clash, the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan fixture is scheduled for February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.