New Delhi: A day after reports claimed that India won’t be travelling to Pakistan early next year for the Champions Trophy and that the BCCI would urge ICC to move India’s matches to a neutral venue, Board vice-president Rajeev Shukla quashed any such claims.
“We do not know which source gave such information. BCCI has not put out any official information regarding this,” Shukla told ThePrint over the phone.
The BCCI has not sent the men in blue across the border since 2008. And the last time the two teams played a bilateral was in 2013. Since then, encounters between the two teams have been limited primarily to International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments and the Asia Cup.
But Pakistan, the defending champions of the ICC title last played in 2017, has put India’s name on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) website. PCB official notification released on 6 July says the eight-member tournament will feature the top seven teams from the One Day International World Cup 2023, with Pakistan qualifying as the host nation. The PCB has officially proposed the dates for the Champions Trophy to ICC from 19 February to 9 March.
The PCB website says that the tournament “scheduled to be announced by the ICC” will see “Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.”
The Champions Trophy has been covered in uncertainty due to the strained relations between the two countries. Earlier, the BCCI was quoted saying that it would approach ICC to change the venue to Dubai.
Sports & politics
This situation echoes the 2023 Asia Cup, which was initially scheduled to be hosted in Pakistan. Ultimately, the PCB opted for a hybrid model, with India’s matches relocated to Sri Lanka. While there were discussions about a similar setup for Pakistan’s participation in the ODI World Cup in India, those plans did not materialise.
Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has urged Virat Kohli and Team India to visit Pakistan, emphasising that sports should remain separate from politics. He highlighted Kohli’s immense fan following in Pakistan, suggesting that “he will forget the love he has for India when he comes to Pakistan”.
“I would welcome Team India. Even during past tours, we received a lot of respect and affection from India, and when India visited in 2005, all their players had a great time,” stated Afridi in an interview with News24 Sports. “Sports should be kept out of politics. There’s nothing better than both teams playing cricket against each other. Indians coming to Pakistan and Pakistanis visiting India—what could be more beautiful than that.”
Speaking to ThePrint, deputy editor (Sports), GeoNews, Faizan Lakhani said that PCB had wanted to host Indians in only one city — Lahore to ensure ‘ease of travel’.
“Often, families and friends travel along with cricketers. Keeping this in mind, PCB chose Lahore since it is close to the border and cricketers can stay in Amritsar. This would lead to less Hassle. If India or Pakistan, for that case, qualify for semi-finals, the match will be held in Karachi. But PCB kept the Indian players in mind while deciding locations,” he said.
Amid all the confusion, Pakistanis are more concerned about their team’s performance. X users didn’t mince words while stating that whether India comes or not, Pakistan needs to do better.
One X user wrote, “Champions Trophy me India nahi araha khair hai mujhe koi aisa tareeqa batao ke Pakistan na aasakay mujhse ab nahi hoti bardasht inki cricket (India isn’t coming to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. Anyway, someone please tell me how to keep Pakistan away from this game. I can’t tolerate their cricket anymore).