The cricketing fraternity is, therefore, awash with curiosity as India is said to be weighing its options on where to hold the 2025 Champions Trophy, which was earlier planned for Pakistan. It is now reported, through the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) affiliated, that the cricket giant may ask the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift the event to Sri Lanka or the United Arab Emirates.
This has been created in the backdrop of Pakistan’s offer to host all of India’s matches at Lahore to reduce travel apprehension. However, the Babr of Civil and Commercial Construction Industries, also known as BCCI, does not seem to entertain this offer due to the political relationship between the two countries.
India last played a cricket series on Pakistani soil in February 2008 in the Asia Cup. Thereafter, confrontations between these bitter nemeses have been restricted to ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup, and the last bilateral series was held in India from December 2012 to January 2013.
This situation is akin to the recent development of Asia Cup 2023, which has been equally hosted in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, with India matches only hosted in Sri Lanka. If indeed the Champions Trophy is shifted, it will be the second time in two years that a tournament has been shifted because of India’s stand.
Earlier, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla also opined that the Indian cricket team would only travel to Karachi from Pakistan if permitted by the central government. ‘We will take any action that the Government of India asks us’ to follow, Shukla reiterated, pointing to the politicization of this sporting move.
Certainly, Pakistan cricket fans are very excited about hosting this event since the country is the defending champion of the last Champions Trophy held in 2017. However, with the above developments, the cricketing fraternity looks on as diplomacy and sport meet again in the subcontinent.
The ICC has not yet given its version of these reports, and people around the world are eager to know about the future of this tournament. Thus, the question arises how this last episode in the endless play of India-Pakistan cricket relations will affect the rest of international cricket.
