There is a lot of speculation around Team India’s participation in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, slated to be held in Pakistan early next year.
The cricket boards of both nations have stayed mum on this matter, but rumours are rife that the Men in Blue won't be travelling to Pakistan for the marquee event.
Earlier, many reports claimed that this matter will be brought up during the four-day ICC Annual Conference in Colombo, which ended on July 22.
However, it is learnt that no discussion took place around the 2025 Champions Trophy. The topic wasn’t on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) today and there were no discussions even on the sidelines.
“It wasn’t on the agenda so it wasn’t brought up or discussed during the Annual General Meeting,” an official, who attended the AGM, quoted as saying by CricketNext.
A senior BCCI official, who was present in Colombo for all four days, confirmed that the Indian board and its Pakistan counterpart didn’t indulge in any dialogue over the staging of the Champions Trophy.
“It isn’t a bilateral where two boards will hold discussions. No dialogue happened between us and PCB on the Champions Trophy. Since it wasn’t on any of the agendas, it wasn’t discussed during the AGM too. It is still time away and ICC will handle it,” the BCCI official said, as quoted by CricketNext.
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 BJP government refused to permit the players' travel across the border.
In the scenario of hybrid model getting adopted for the Champions Trophy, there’s a chance that one of the semi-finals and the final could also be taken away from Pakistan.
As per the drafted schedule, Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy from February 19 to March 9. 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 Pakistan in Group A, also featuring Bangladesh and New Zealand. Group B comprises Australia, South Africa, England and Afghanistan.
The eight-nation tournament will mark a major cricket event in Pakistan as the country last co-hosted the World Cup with India and Sri Lanka in 1996.
(With CricketNext Inputs)
