India will not travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy: Pakistan Cricket Board
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since being carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947 and that rivalry is often reflected on the cricket field.
PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI – India will not travel to Pakistan for the eight-team Champions Trophy starting in February, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Nov 10.
Deteriorating political relations, tense at the best of times, have meant the bitter rivals have not played a bilateral series for over a decade – with India last touring Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2008.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board has received an e-mail from the ICC (International Cricket Council), stating that the Indian board has informed them that their team will not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025,” PCB spokesman Sami Ul Hasan told AFP.
“The PCB has forwarded that e-mail to the government of Pakistan for their advice and guidance,” Hasan added.
Pakistan is due to host the eight-nation event in three cities – Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi – from Feb 19 to March 9, 2025, but the final schedule was hanging in the balance with India yet to confirm their participation.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had previously ruled out the possibility of a hybrid event that would have seen India play all their matches on neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates.
“Pakistan has shown great gestures to India in the past, and we’d like to say clearly India shouldn’t expect such friendly gestures from us every time,” Naqvi said in Lahore on Nov 9.
“The government will decide if Pakistan travel for any future event in India if they don’t come to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. The PCB will not decide that.”
The ICC was set to release the Champions Trophy schedule this week, but the latest stand-off will likely delay that announcement.
The Champions Trophy is the premier one-day international (ODI) competition after the World Cup, with the upcoming event featuring Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
Nov 11 marked the 100-day countdown to the event.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought a series of wars since being carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947 and that rivalry is often reflected on the cricket field.
Any cricket match between the two fierce rivals is among the most-watched events on the global sporting calendar.
Pakistan visited India for the 2023 ODI World Cup and the PCB expected the gesture to be reciprocated for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan was forced to stage the 2023 Asia Cup using a hybrid model, with India playing their matches, in addition to the final, in Sri Lanka.
India and Pakistan have only faced off in ICC multi-nation events since their last bilateral series in the 2012-13 season. AFP
