Former Pakistani cricketer Tanvir Ahmed has said that Team India should not be hesitant to play the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Pakistan are the host for the ICC event, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) want a hybrid model. India haven’t travelled to Pakistan for a cricket series since the 2008 Asia Cup as well. A video recently surfaced on social media, where Ahmed urged the Indian team to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan as well.

Saying that Pakistan will provide security to the Indian team, Tanvir Ahmed said: “Sher hai hum log sher hai, hum log sher hai. Hum log tere mulk me aa ke khel ke gaye hai. Aake dikha….Hum toh kah rahe hai aake khelo. Security denge, sab kuch denge tum logon ko. Aa toh sahi ek dafaa [We are lions, we are lions. We came and played cricket in your country. Come here and show… We are inviting you to come and play. We will provide security, we will give you everything. Just come once].”

ALSO READ: “Shubman’s captaincy is very good” – Ravi Bishnoi on Shubman Gill

Notably, Pakistan were the host for the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup. However, India didn’t want to visit Pakistan, so a hybrid model was used for the tournament as well. Pakistan also hosted just four games, with the rest of the fixtures taking place in Sri Lanka as well. Tanvir Ahmed also highlighted that Pakistan haven’t refused to play in India as well.

“Yeh sirf Pakistan ke playeron ka kaam hai, bhai. Sirf Pakistan ke player aate hai aur khelke chale jaate hai. Chahe jeete, chahe haare, jis tarah ki cricket khele. Woh India jaake khelke wapas aaye the. Isko kahte hai ek daler team aur daler players [It’s only the Pakistan players who do this. Only Pakistani players come and play and go back, regardless of winning or losing, and no matter how they play. They went to India and returned after playing there. This is what you call a brave team and brave players],” Tanvir Ahmed concluded.