Even with around seven months to go before the start of the new edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place in Pakistan during February-March, it’s still not sure if India is making their trip to the country, which they haven’t visited since being involved in the 2008 Asia Cup.
The Green Brigade is hosting its first ICC tournament since the 1996 ODI World Cup, as they are expecting to take a significant step towards the restart of normal cricket in their country. The political reason has been a major factor behind India not taking on Pakistan in a bilateral series in 2012.
The BCCI management has spoken about how the decision of the Indian Government will be final regarding their trip to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. Once they get the green signal, they will start to make all the necessary arrangements for the event.
“If India doesn’t want to come, it doesn’t matter”- Saqlain Mushtaq
Recent reports have claimed that India is perhaps looking to activate the hybrid model, which they used during the 2023 Asia Cup to play their games, including the one against Pakistan in Sri Lanka. If they end up using the same model for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, then the Rohit Sharma-led side is going to play their game either in Sri Lanka or Dubai.
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The former off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has made a bold response to the withdrawal threat of the Indian team from the upcoming tournament. He feels that there is no point in making a fuss on that, as they are leaving the whole matter to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“It’s simple. If India wants to come, they can. If they don’t want to come, it doesn’t matter. There’s no point in making a fuss about it. This won’t make either party good or bad. This is ICC’s event, and they will look into this matter, as they should.” The veteran bowler of the national side expressed in a recent interview.
Pakistan, however, is not ready to grant the hybrid model at any cost, as they have already submitted the draft schedule of the event to the ICC committee, where the 2013 champions of the competition are going to play all of their group games, including the semifinal and final (if qualified) in Lahore, to avoid excessive travel in the country.
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The Punjab-born has also reflected on the outside voice, which wants to play Babar Azam only as a regular batter and not appoint him as the captain of the side. He also advised the insiders to observe the situation and handle it with care.
The recent reports have also expressed that if the Indian team avoids making their trip to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, the latter too may avoid coming to India for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, which is going to be played in the T20 format, and that upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 too, which is going to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.