Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, remains confident that all teams will come to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Of course, by all teams, he means the Indian cricket team. Removing themselves, only India and Afghanistan are the two teams that haven’t visited Pakistan since cricket resumed there on a full scale in 2017.
PCB’s India hope for Champions Trophy
All the other teams are confirmed to travel, but Team India isn’t. Due to the tensions between the two nations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has always maintained that they’ll visit Pakistan if the Indian government allows them to. So, it doesn’t seem likely that the Men in Blue will travel next year for the Champions Trophy, but Naqvi remains hopeful.
“InshaAllah, Pakistan will host the full Champions Trophy, and all teams will participate here,” the PCB Chief said during his visit to the National Stadium, Karachi.
Naqvi refuses to answer travel related question
Naqvi knows that most likely, the ICC event will be hosted in a hybrid model. Team India won’t travel, and they’ll play their matches in the Middle East, which will potentially include the knockout matches (semifinals and final). To ensure that doesn’t happen, an idea was floated.
PCB were allegedly thinking that Team India could play their match in Lahore and then ferry back to Chandigarh or Delhi after each game. The BCCI dismissed the preposterous idea. Naqvi was asked about reports of such things happening. The PCB Chief decided that it’s best to remain quiet on the topic, leaving what happens next to the ICC and BCCI.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Teams & Groups
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| A | Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and New Zealand |
| B | Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan |
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