Former opener Gautam Gambhir has officially replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team.
While Gambhir will begin his stint with the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka later this month, his first major assignment will be the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, slated to be held in Pakistan early next year.
The Champions Trophy might also mark the end of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s illustrious white-ball careers. The two stalwarts retired from T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup last month.
However, rumours are rife that Rohit’s men won't be travelling to Pakistan for the ICC event and the BCCI has reportedly requested the ICC to either change the venue for the tournament or schedule India's matches in Dubai or Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla on Saturday (July 13) dismissed all the speculations.
“We do not know which source gave such information. BCCI has not put out any official information regarding this,” Shukla told The Print.
Notably, the Indian team hasn’t toured Pakistan since 2008 due to the political hostility between the two neighbouring countries.
The 2023 edition of Asia Cup, which was supposed to take place in Pakistan entirely, was played in a hybrid model with India playing their matches in Sri Lanka as the government refused to permit the players' travel across the border.
Earlier, Shukla had said that Indian team travelling to Pakistan will depend on the approval from the central government.
“In the case of the Champion Trophy, we will do whatever the Government of India will tell us to do. We send our team only when the Government of India permits us to do so. So we will go according to the decision of the Indian government,” Shukla stated.
As per the drafted schedule, Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy from February 19 to March 9 next year. Apart from the host nation, India, Australia, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Afghanistan are the eligible teams for the competition.
According to reports, India have been slotted with Pakistani in Group A, also featuring Bangladesh and New Zealand. Group B comprises Australia, South Africa, England and Afghanistan.
