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Basit Ali feels the Pakistan Cricket Board should not be bothered about India’s decisions regarding the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
BCCI do not want to have Pakistan’s name on their CT 2025 jersey? (PTI Photo)
Former Pakistan captain Basit Ali remains ignorant about reports of Rohit Sharma not attending the opening ceremony of the Champions Trophy. As confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), India will play all of their matches in the UAE. The multi-lateral event will be inaugurated in the host country, Pakistan. While the captains of all participating teams are expected to mark their presence in the opening ceremony, Rohit reportedly has no plans to travel to the neighbouring country.
The Indian team is also against printing the Champions Trophy logo featuring Pakistan’s name on their jersey. As per ICC’s official clothing code, every team must wear jerseys bearing the name of the hosts.
Basit Ali shared his thoughts on the recent developments while speaking on his YouTube channel. According to him, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should not be bothered about India’s decisions.
“India has refused to print Pakistan’s name on their jersey, and Rohit Sharma won’t travel to Pakistan. But why do you get upset? Silence is the best answer,” said Basit Ali.
“If they don’t want to print, they should not. If Rohit Sharma doesn’t want to come for the opening ceremony, he should not come. It’s that simple. The PCB should write an email to BCCI and record their protest. We should not do anything more,” he added.
Basit Ali suggested that Pakistan should also have the same approach during the next T20 World Cup which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026. He further opined that this political tension between these two Asian countries would do nothing but affect world cricket.
“It won’t cause a problem for Pakistan, it will harm world cricket and Jay Shah. The 2026 T20 World Cup is in India. So, Pakistan can refuse to print India’s name on their jersey. Even your captain should not go there. You also do the same thing,” Basit Ali explained in the YouTube video.
India last toured Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup. When the 2023 ODI World Cup was held on Indian soil, Pakistan came to the country to feature at the ICC event. The Asian rivals last faced in a bilateral series in 2012-13 in India.
- Location :
Lahore, Pakistan
