Despite all the new developments of BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, becoming the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the question arises if India should think of making their trip to Pakistan for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. They have been waiting for the government’s permission before taking the final decision.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to take a call on whether they want to play their games in Sri Lanka in hybrid mode, the way they played last year’s Asia Cup 2023. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also gave a schedule of the upcoming tournament, which revealed that India could play all of their games in Lahore to deny travel.
The last time, the Blue Brigade toured the country, was during the 2008 season for the Asia Cup, as since then the poor relationship between the two countries has led them to be involved only in ICC tournaments. They played their last bilateral series in 2012 when the Green Brigade toured India.
“Security concerns are always there”- Harbhajan Singh on India’s decision to tour Pakistan
The former off-spinner of the Indian team, Harbhajan Singh, felt that India, despite Pakistan successfully hosting all the teams at home, shouldn’t move to the country for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, which is going to take place in February and March next year.
“What they say is what they think is right while what we say is our point of view. I feel the security concerns are always there and if the security of the players is not ensured there then I don’t think that the team should go there.” The Jalandhar-born expressed in an exclusive conversation with Sports Tak.
India, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, lost the final of the title against Sarfaraz Ahmed’s Pakistan side during the 2017 CT at the Kennington Oval, when the former struggled in their batting department.
“If They say that the teams will get full security and there is no hassle then it’s on the government to think and make decisions because, in the end, it’s not just about cricketing matters and the issue goes beyond.” Harbhajan Singh noted. “As a cricketer, I can say if you wish to play cricket, play cricket but the security concern is always there and players should not go there until the security is guaranteed.”
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Considering the past events, it’s next to impossible for the BCCI to allow the Rohit Sharma-led side to travel to Pakistan, who despite all the issues had traveled to this part of the border twice- for the 2016 T20 World Cup and last year’s ODI World Cup.
The ICC won’t be happy if the Indian side takes their name out of the competition because of the revenue, in which case, Sri Lanka is going to replace them. However, this new appointment of Jay Shah as the chairman could bring a different aspect to the whole situation.