The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Sunday (November 10) that India had intimated the International Cricket Council (ICC) about its reluctance to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, scheduled in February-March next year.
"The PCB has received an e-mail from the ICC, stating that the BCCI has informed them that their team will not travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025," PCB said in a statement.
"The PCB has forwarded that e-mail to the Government of Pakistan for their advice and guidance," said a PCB spokesperson.
While PCB made no further comments on the e-mail, chairman Mohsin Naqvi had said on Friday (November 8) that Pakistan would announce its stance when they get something in writing from the ICC.
Earlier, the BCCI informed the apex body about India team's inability to travel across the border, leaving the PCB with no option but to adopt the 'Hybrid Model' for the Champions Trophy. Naqvi had also said that they were not ready to hear about 'Hybrid Model'.
The cricketing ties between India and Pakistan have been fraught with political and security issues since the 2008 Mumbai attack.
While the arch-rivals last played a limited-overs series in 2012, their last meeting in Tests 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.
Notably, Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup last year but India played all of their matches in Sri Lanka under the 'Hybrid Model'.
As reported by news agency PTI, the Indian team will play all its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai and the high-octane India versus Pakistan fixture will also be held in the UAE.
"This is an ICC event and BCCI has informed the global body that it won't travel to Pakistan. It will depend on ICC to inform the host nation about the development and then close in on the scheduling of the tournament. The convention is to announce the schedule 100 days prior to the commencement of the event," a BCCI source had told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Dubai is the ideal location for India's matches as it has the highest capacity among three stadiums in the UAE, and all the essential infrastructure is well in place after hosting the Women's T20 World Cup last month.
(With PTI Inputs)
