Team India Unlikely To Travel To Pakistan For Champions Trophy: Report

The Indian Cricket Team is unlikely to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. News Agency ANI, citing BCCI sources, reported that the board will request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold their matches in Dubai or Sri Lanka instead. The ICC Champions Trophy is expected to be held next year in Pakistan from February to March.

Team India's participation in the tournament has been clouded by uncertainty due to tensions in political and diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan. In May, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla said that the team would be sent to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy only if authorized by the central government. "In the case of the Champion Trophy, we will do whatever the Government of India will tell us to do," Rajeev Shukla told ANI on that occasion.

It is to be noted that India has not played any tournaments in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. The final bilateral series between the two nations was held from December 2012 to January 2013 in India. Since then, India and Pakistan have only clashed at the Asia Cup and ICC tournaments. ESPNCricinfo recently reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has drafted India to play all of their matches in the Champions Trophy in Lahore. However, the Champions Trophy is anticipated to adopt a hybrid format.