India not not travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy, likely to play in UAE

Due to security concerns, India has announced that it will not be visiting Pakistan for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. India hasn’t visited Pakistan for cricket since 2008 due to the two countries’ complex geopolitical relationship. According to reports, India would like to play its matches in Dubai for the Champions Trophy, which begins in February 2025.

By officially informing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of their choice to play their matches in Dubai, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has upheld their position on cricket matches in Pakistan. We have maintained this position, and there is no justification for changing it. A knowledgeable source was cited by the Indian Express as saying, “We have written to them and asked them to shift our games to Dubai.”

India was supposed to play in Lahore.

Following a recent meeting in Islamabad of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization between Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar and India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, many conjectured that cricket relations between the two countries would improve. Expectations for improved bilateral athletic relations were heightened by the meeting, which was the first high-level discussion between the two countries since 2015.

With Pakistan serving as the tournament’s official host and all of India’s matches taking place in Sri Lanka in 2023, the PCB has expressed a willingness to explore a hybrid approach for the competition.

India’s matches might be held in the United Arab Emirates under the Champions Trophy’s hybrid arrangement, with Pakistan retaining the hosting rights.

Currently, Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi will host the competition, which is expected to take place from February 19 to March 9.

Pakistan has demonstrated its ability to accommodate major cricket teams, including Bangladesh and England, in recent years. But the 2008 Asia Cup was the last time India visited Pakistan for a cricket match. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is scheduled to visit Lahore next week as part of the PCB’s ongoing efforts to finalize the tournament calendar.

As per the provisional schedule, the highly anticipated India-Pakistan game was originally scheduled for March 1 in Lahore.

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But given the most recent developments in India and the BCCI’s decision, which was reached after consulting the government, other plans will soon be announced.