The Indian cricket team is unlikely to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in 2025. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the tournament in a hybrid model and relocate their matches to either Sri Lanka or Dubai, a BCCI source told ANI on Thursday.
The ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled for February to March 2025 in Pakistan. Since the Asia Cup in 2008, Team India has not set foot on Pakistani soil due to stern political relationships between the two nations.
The last time the two countries played a bilateral series was back in 2012-13 when India hosted their arch-rivals for two T20Is and three ODIs. Since then, India and Pakistan have only faced each other in ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board had proposed that India should play all matches in Lahore, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. In reply, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla stated that the Indian team would only go to Pakistan after approval from the central government.
“In the case of the Champions Trophy, we will follow the instructions of the Government of India. We send our team only when authorized by the Government of India. So, we will abide by the decision of the Indian government,” he said in May.
A similar situation arose during last year’s Asia Cup, originally planned for Pakistan. However, all of India’s matches, including those against Pakistan, were held in Sri Lanka. The tournament final, which India won, took place in Colombo.
History of ICC Champions Trophy
The Champions Trophy, often nicknamed the ‘mini World Cup’, was introduced by the ICC back in 1998. At first, it was known as the ICC Knockout Tournament and was played every four years. The main goal was to generate funds for cricket in countries that didn’t have Test status. The first two editions were held in Kenya and Bangladesh. However, due to its commercial success, the tournament later took place in major cricketing nations like England and India.
The last edition of the tournament was held in England in 2017, where Pakistan defeated India in the final.
Team India holds two ICC Champions Trophy titles, having won the tournament under MS Dhoni in 2013 and being declared joint winners with Sri Lanka back in 2002.