Champions Trophy: Team India not to play in Pakistan, declares BCCI
Days ahead of a visit by the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) security team to Pakistan to study the situation for the Champion’s Trophy next year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially communicated that it will not send the Indian team to Pakistan for the tournament.
The decision comes despite several attempts by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), including during the recent visit of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Islamabad, to convince the government to change its mind, offering any special security arrangements required.
The PCB was also prepared to assure the BCCI of its choice of venue for all matches played by the Indian team, which would have security concerns in Pakistan, given the tensions between the two countries and the absence of regular ties.
In 2019, angered by India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan had snapped trade and travel ties, and High Commissioners in both countries were expelled.
“We have officially informed the ICC about our inability to participate in games in Pakistan. We have made our stance clear that we will prefer a hybrid model, with the tournament split between two countries,” a BCCI insider said.
“We were asked to clear our stand and have done it in consultation with the (Central) government.”
A hybrid model, which had been followed for other series in the past, would mean India’s group engagements and the tournament final due to be held in February-March 2025 would be organized in the UAE, a proposal that could see stiff opposition from Pakistan, sources said.
On Friday, the Pakistan Cricket Board chief and Pakistan’s Home Minister, Syed Mohsin Naqvi, dismissed Indian media reports that the BCCI had written about its decision to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Speaking to journalists at Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium, Mr. Naqvi said no country had discussed the “hybrid model” with them, nor was Pakistan “willing to talk about it.”
“We have been showing good gestures for the last few years, and no one should expect us to do it all the time,” Mr. Naqvi said, adding that the Shahbaz Sharif government would take the final decision on how to proceed if such a proposal was given.
The Ministry of External Affairs had denied that Mr. Jaishankar had any “conversation” about resuming cricketing ties in Pakistan when he met Mr. Naqvi at a dinner during his visit to Islamabad for the SCO Heads of Government Meeting on Oct. 15-16.
However, at least two officials confirmed that the PCB had presented Pakistan’s case for India to travel with the Indian delegation.
According to the sources, Pakistan was prepared to let the Indian team spend only as much time in Pakistan as was required for the matches or practice and would facilitate the team’s return to India by air or by road over the border to Amritsar.