India's tour to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will be decided in ICC Meeting

July 18, 2024

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India’s tour to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will be decided in ICC Meeting

Pakistan may face a major blow in hosting the Champions Trophy 2025 as India is likely to express its inability to travel to its neighbour’s country due to security concerns. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has scheduled a meeting with BCCI and PCB in Colombo from July 19th to 22nd to discuss these concerns.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) secretary, Jay Shah, will be attending these meetings. While the official agenda doesn’t mention the India-Pakistan tour issue, it’s highly likely that both the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will raise it during “any other business” discussions.

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The Champions Trophy is scheduled for February-March 2025 in Pakistan. According to the PCB’s plans, India was supposed to play all their group matches in Lahore. However, with India’s potential refusal, the ICC might have to consider a “hybrid model” where India’s matches are held in a neutral venue like Sri Lanka or UAE.

This wouldn’t be a simple solution, though. The PCB is likely to oppose any change in their hosting rights strongly.

Pindi Cricket Stadium 3D model for Champions Trophy 2025. #ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/s2cr1AtqFi

— Nawaz 🇵🇰 (@Rnawaz31888) July 16, 2024

India vs Pakistan Women’s Asia Cup

Apart from the Champions Trophy situation, there are other interesting developments in Indian cricket. The BCCI secretary might also attend the India vs Pakistan Women’s Asia Cup match happening on July 19th in Dambulla.

The wait for India’s next T20 captain continues. There’s a debate between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav for the position. Reports suggest that during a recent online meeting, the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and the selectors discussed the possibility of making Suryakumar, the current world no. 2 T20 batsman, the regular captain. The concern with Hardik is his injury history. However, a final decision hasn’t been made yet.

If India decides to not to tour Pakistan for Champions Trophy then this will definitely impact the tournament. The ICC meetings in Colombo will be crucial in determining the fate of the tournament and the future of India-Pakistan cricketing relations.