A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the ICC Champions Trophy, slated for 2025, because it is to be hosted by Pakistan. While all other teams seem ready to travel, one critical decision shall seal India’s participation—will they get the green signal from their government to play in Pakistan? This potential roadblock stems from the complex political relationship between India and Pakistan.
Cricketing relations between both nations have been severely strained ever since those horrific Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. India hasn’t toured Pakistan since then; matches have mainly happened in neutral venues during Asia Cups and other ICC tournaments. The BCCI, the governing body for cricket in India, has indicated that they would want an OK from the Indian government with regard to the safety of the players before they would be willing to participate in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Similarly, the Indian government has tied cricketing relations to the ending of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. This poses a serious problem to the smooth conduct of the event in its chosen host country. The situation has gone to the extent that ICC may have no option but to shift the entire Champions Trophy if clearance is not given to India.
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Sri Lanka and Dubai have already made entries as alternate hosts; sources from Sri Lanka Cricket have also confirmed this. This would be a big blow to the Pakistan Cricket Board, who had already submitted a draft schedule of the tournament, including the marquee clash between India and Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
🚨 🚨 Big breaking on Champions trophy 2025
If Pakistan doesn’t accept hybrid model the hosting rights of Pak will be given to any other country#ChampionsTrophy2025 #CricketTwitter— Rahul (@RahulkumarDeka) July 20, 2024
Adding fuel to the fire are reports suggesting that Cricket Australia and the ECB might side with the BCCI in the ICC executive committee meeting scheduled. This can complicate things even further for the PCB and their dream of hosting the Champions Trophy.
If India, a cricket powerhouse, were not to participate, it would certainly take much of the glitter off the show. The last bilateral series between the two arch-rivals dates way back to 2013, with Pakistan touring India for a combined T20I and ODI series. Since then, matches between the two have been limited to multi-nation tournaments, and fans have grown increasingly hungry for a proper bilateral showdown.
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The Champions Trophy itself is making a comeback after an eight-year hiatus. Scrapped earlier, the ICC decided to revive the tournament featuring eight teams divided into two groups for a round-robin format. With India’s participation uncertain, the whole event can be thrown haywire by forcing a last-minute change of venue and dampening the enthusiasm for this prestigious tournament.
