Last Updated:
BCCI has reportedly told ICC it won’t send its team across the border for the next year’s Champions Trophy.
India haven’t toured Pakistan since 2008. (PTI Photo)
Javed Miandad is not happy the BCCI’s reluctance to send its men’s team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. The BCCI has reportedly informed International Cricket Council (ICC) about its stance via e-mail and the governing body forwarded it to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). There are reports that a hybrid model could be followed which allows India to play their matches in a neutral venue like the UAE.
The PCB has already kicked off the preparations for hosting the Champions Trophy. The ICC tournament is slated to be held in February next year. With less than three months to go, the turn of events has irked several former Pakistani players including Miandad.
The ex-Pakistan captain has labelled India’s stand as “a joke.” He feels Pakistan will not only survive but also have the ability to thrive without the help of Indian cricket. He is also keen to see how the ICC handles the situation.
“It is a joke that this is happening. Even if we don’t play India at all, Pakistan cricket will not only survive but prosper as well as we have shown in the past. I would like to see how the ICC events earn money when there are no Pakistan and India matches,” Miandad said, as quoted by the PTI.
According to a report by the Dawn, the Pakistan government may ask its board to pull out from the Champions Trophy if India remain firm in their decision. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqbi is claimed to have “ruled out the possibility of a hybrid model.”
“In such a case, one of the options the government is mulling is that of asking the PCB to ensure Pakistan doesn’t participate in the Champions Trophy,” a source close to the development told the publication.
Pakistan toured India last year when India had the hosting rights for the 2023 ODI World Cup. India, however, last visited their neighbours in 2008.
Both teams last featured in a bilateral series in 2012-13 on Indian soil. Since then, the Asian heavyweights have just met in either ICC or continental events.
Pakistan earlier hosted the 2023 Asia Cup but India had played their matches in Sri Lanka.
