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Indian Sports Minister Hints at Pulling Out From Champions Trophy in Pakistan

Pakistan getting the hosting rights for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy has not sat well with their arch-rivals India. Just a day after ICC awarded Pakistan the hosting rights for the mega event, the Indian sports minister has hinted at the possibility that the Indian cricket team might pull out of the tournament due to ‘security concerns’.

India’s propaganda against Pakistan hosting international teams in their own backyard is no hidden secret as there have been numerous statements by the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) and Indian ministers regarding the matter over the years. This time around though, Indian sports minister, Anurag Thakur, has directly mentioned that they will have to assess the security situation in Pakistan before sending their team for the major event.

Thakur said, “Even in the past, you would have seen many countries have pulled out to go there (Pakistan) and play because the situation there is not normal. Security is the main challenge there, like teams have been attacked in the past, which is a concern. So when the time comes, the Indian government will take a decision depending on the circumstances then.”

The governments of the two countries have been at loggerheads and the relationship between the two countries is at an all-time low. The two nations have not played bilateral series against each other since Pakistan’s tour of India in 2012-13 while the two teams occasionally meet at ICC events.

This is the first time since 1996 that Pakistan has gotten the hosting rights for an ICC event. The previous ICC event hosted by Pakistan was alongside Sri Lanka and India when the three nations hosted the ICC 1996 Cricket World Cup. The final of the tournament was held at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.

With the ICC Champions Trophy still over four years away, the statement from India’s sports minister has come prematurely as the situation in the coming years can drastically change.

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