The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reportedly satisfied with Pakistan’s preparations for the Champions Trophy 2025. The country is racing against time to host the marquee tournament in February next year, with renovation works underway in two out of the three proposed venues. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly assured the ICC officials that the renovation work would be completed on time and that Pakistan is ready to host the event.
Pakistan set to host Champions Trophy 2025
As per Cricket Pakistan, the report presented by PCB’s Naqvi on the final day of the meeting stated that the renovation works at Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore would be completed in time for Champions Trophy 2025. Additionally, he also invited the board members to visit Pakistan and oversee the preparations personally. It is pertinent to point out that an ICC delegation has already made multiple visits to Pakistan to inspect the preparations over the past few months.
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Will India travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2025?
It remains to be seen if India will travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 and tine is running out of BCCI’s hands to take a call on the matter. The Men in Blue last toured Pakistan in 2008 following which geopolitical tensions between the two countries has forced the former to boycott cricket in Pakistan. Yet, the country’s hopes of hosting the Champions Trophy 2025 remains high, with the visit of External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar to Islamabad fueling more speculations of India’s participation.
Time and again, the BCCI has maintained that the team would be allowed to travel only if the central government permitted them to do so. With less than five months left for the tournament, it remains to be seen if the ICC will allow Pakistan to host the tournament entirely if India does not travel and will keep the hybrid model option open. While Pakistan has come up with some bizarre suggestions for India – including offering assistance to the side to travel back to Delhi or Chandigarh from Lahore after every match – clearly other stakeholders are not interested in visiting Pakistan without India’s participation.
