In a significant blow to cricketing ties, India has maintained its stance against sending its team to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy, as reported by Indian media on Friday.
Sources informed the Indian Express that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated security concerns to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and requested that India’s matches be relocated to Dubai instead of Lahore.
“BCCI has shared its reservations about holding Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan and favors a neutral venue, with Dubai being a top choice,” a source told the Times of India.
An additional source mentioned that BCCI’s position on this matter remains unchanged, citing longstanding concerns.
“We have formally requested our games be moved to Dubai,” the source added.
Responding to India’s decision, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi remarked that Pakistan should not be expected to continually extend goodwill gestures when India has declined to consider traveling to Lahore for the Champions Trophy.
“In recent years, Pakistan has offered numerous positive gestures. We hope we’re not expected to always do so,” Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister, stated in Lahore.
Pakistan remains committed to hosting the entire 2025 Champions Trophy from February 19 to March 9 in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. To address logistical and security considerations, it proposed hosting all Indian matches in Lahore, near the Wagah border, for easier access.
India last played in Pakistan in 2008. In 2023, the BCCI opted out of sending a team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, resulting in a hybrid format with later stages held in Sri Lanka.
However, Pakistan reciprocated by visiting India for the 2023 ODI World Cup, though the team did not advance to the semi-finals.
The development follows a reported discussion in Islamabad between Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar during an October meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Hopes for normalizing cricket ties were raised, marking the first high-level talks between the two nations since 2015 and suggesting a potential breakthrough in cricket relations.
