Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria said that even as other teams have been touring Pakistan recently, the security concerns for the Indian side remain much higher as well. In the latest development regarding the Champions Trophy to be played in Pakistan this year, the BCCI have stated India’s unwillingness to travel to Pakistan due to security reasons as well.

Speaking to IANS on this issue, Kaneria said, as quoted by News18: “The issue was ongoing for long that India will not travel to Pakistan for political and other reasons. They have an option of the hybrid model as they did in the Asia Cup but things should be settled as Pakistan travelled to India for ODI World Cup last year. If Pakistan go to the international court (CAS) what will they achieve out of it? There’s always the uncertainty of security in Pakistan. International teams are coming but security concerns are much higher with the Indian team.”

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Meanwhile, Danish Kaneria also feels the hybrid model should be utilized for the 2025 Champions Trophy with India playing their games in Dubai as well. The hybrid model was used for the 2023 Asia Cup, originally played in Pakistan, with India eventually playing their games in Sri Lanka as well.

“Looking at the big picture, India should play their matches in Dubai and Pakistan continue to host the Champions Trophy in the country. Things will only go downhill in this situation but Pakistan have nothing to lose as they did the same last time and also sent their team to India for World Cup. PCB is adamant this time and says many fans in Pakistan want to see Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja play in Pakistan,” said Kaneria (as per the aforementioned source). “It will interesting to see how PCB will move ahead with the Champions Trophy from here; will they play on the front foot and stay bold in their stand? I think things should be done swiftly with delegations of both boards interacting in person to find the desirable outcome.”