Will India participate in the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan?

ISLAMABAD: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla has said that the decision to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will depend on government approval, and no decision has been taken yet.

As per the details, he expressed these views while talking to the media on the occasion of the Kanpur Test between India and Bangladesh on Monday.

He added that he always takes permission from the government for international tours, and it depends on the government whether the Indian team should visit a particular country or not. We will abide by whatever decision the government takes.

Notably, India has not traveled to Pakistan for bilateral cricket since 2008 and the two countries have only played against each other in ICC events.

It is also worth mentioning that the Pakistan cricket team visited India for the ICC ODI World Cup last year after a gap of seven years.

Speculation suggests that India may not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. The Indian board may request the ICC to shift the tournament from Pakistan to Sri Lanka or Dubai.

It may be recalled that the previous edition of the Asia Cup was played under the hybrid model in which India played all its matches in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka hosted nine matches while Pakistan hosted four matches.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held from February 19 to March 9 next year and stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are being upgraded for the event.