India has informed the International Cricket Council it will not travel to the Champions Trophy, according to hosts Pakistan. The ongoing political tensions has been given as reason, and if that happens, it will mean that the two countries have not played each other outside of men’s major tournaments since 2013, while India have not played in Pakistan for 16 years.
Pakistan are due to host a global event for the first time since 1996 in February and March next year, the eight-team, 50-over Champions Trophy.
But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the Board of Control for Cricket in India has told the ICC the India team will not cross the border.
“The PCB has received an email from the ICC, stating that the BCCI has informed them that their team will not travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025,” said a PCB spokesperson. “The PCB has forwarded that email to the government of Pakistan for their advice and guidance.”
The tournament is due to begin in one hundred days, on 19 February. A schedule is still to be confirmed by the ICC.
The ICC has not responded directly to the PCB statement but is in discussions with Pakistan and the other seven competing nations over a schedule. The BCCI has been asked for a response.
One possible solution would be for a ‘hybrid’ staging of the tournament, with India playing its matches outside of Pakistan, possibly in the United Arab Emirates. A similar model was employed when Pakistan staged last year’s Asia Cup.
However, this throws up the possibility of uncertainty over where knockout matches would be played if India progress to the semi-finals.
And, on Friday, chairman Mohsin Naqvi said the PCB is not prepared to accept a hybrid solution.
Pakistan travelled to India to play in the 2016 T20 World Cup and 2023 50-over World Cup.
Last month, any suggestion that the tournament could take place without India was dismissed by England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould.
“If you play the Champions Trophy without India or Pakistan, the broadcast rights aren’t there, and we need to protect them,” he said.