The ICC Champions Trophy, after an eight-year hiatus, is scheduled to return in 2025. The last edition of this tournament was held in 2017, where Pakistan emerged victorious against their arch-rivals India, in a thrilling finale.
The upcoming tournament will be hosted by the previous champions, Pakistan, in February 2025. The qualified nations for this event, as per their rankings in the ODI World Cup 2023, are Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, and India.
However, rumors are rife about India’s potential absence from the tournament, fueled by the current political tensions between India and Pakistan. Reports suggest that the BCCI might not permit the Indian team to travel to Pakistan, given the political climate.
The BCCI has remained firm on its stance of not risking a visit to Pakistan during these politically charged times and is believed to be requesting the ICC to relocate the tournament to a neutral venue, possibly Dubai or Sri Lanka.
Shahid Afridi, the former Pakistani captain, has publicly expressed his disappointment at the BCCI and the Indian government’s stance in a recent interview.
What did Shahid Afridi say about the BCCI’s decision?
Afridi pleaded with the BCCI in a recent interview for the exclusion of politics from sports, particularly cricket.
“Why do politics and sports have to mix repeatedly? Be it cricket or any other sport, please keep such matters separate. We’ve seen strong ties with India through cricket and sports in the past.”
The Indian cricket team hasn’t competed in Pakistan for 16 years. The last match between the two nations was an Asia Cup game in 2008, which India won by six wickets, thanks to a stunning century by opener Virender Sehwag.
Written by Vedant Malik.Vedant is an experienced content producer specializing in sports and technology.
Picture credit: CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
