General Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jay Shah has addressed the possibility of the Indian cricket team traveling to Pakistan for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
This comes after Pakistan was awarded the hosting rights for the prestigious tournament by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The 2025 edition will be the ninth in the tournament’s history and is set to feature eight top teams, all of which earned their places based on their performances in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Group A, will see India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand facing off, while Group B will include Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan.
When questioned about India’s participation in Pakistan, Shah was non-committal, stating that no decision had been made yet. “No stand as of now. We will cross the bridge when it comes,” Shah said, reflecting the BCCI’s cautious approach.
India has not toured Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup, and the last bilateral series between the two cricketing giants took place in India during the 2012-13 season.
Political tensions between the neighboring nations have kept bilateral cricket off the table in recent years between BCCI and PCB, limiting their encounters to major ICC events.
Notably, in the 2017 Champions Trophy, Pakistan claimed their first title by defeating India in the final, adding an extra layer of anticipation to any potential clash between the two sides in the upcoming tournament.
However. Pakistan did visit India last year in November for the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup where the Shaheens finished fifth under Babar Azam’s and failed to qualify for the semifinals.
