India won’t travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy, BCCI informs PCB: report

ISLAMABAD: India has decided not to send its men’s cricket team to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy due to security concerns and requested a neutral venue, Indian media reported on Friday.

According to The Times of India, citing sources, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has formally communicated to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that Men in Blue won’t travel for next year’s Champions Trophy across the border.

The BCCI wants India’s matches to be held at a neutral venue and Dubai is the strong candidate to host the fixtures involving India, the publication quoted a source as saying.

Sources within BCCI told The Indian Express, “This has been our stance and there is no reason to change that. We have written to them and asked them to shift our games to Dubai.”

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi refutes Indian media claims.

Addressing the reporters in Lahore, Naqvi, who is also the federal minister, said that BBCI has not formally informed the Pakistan Cricket Board of its concerns and requested a hybrid model.

Reacting to the development, he told India not to expect good gestures from Islamabad after New Delhi reportedly rejected the idea of traveling to Lahore for the Champions Trophy.

“In recent years, Pakistan has shown a lot of good gestures. However, we hope that we are not expected to show good gestures always,” Naqvi told reporters.

Pakistan is set to hold the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9 in three cities — Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. For that, PCB has initiated renovation work at the venues to prepare them to align with international standards.