The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has reiterated his belief that India will visit Pakistan for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to take place in Pakistan from February to March, however, India’s participation in the tournament is uncertain as the BCCI seeks the government’s approval to visit the country.
However, Mohsin Naqvi, in an interaction with the media in Lahore, expressed confidence that all the teams, including India, will visit Pakistan for the eight-team tournament.
“I have full confidence in the Indian team… So far, there is nothing that would cause them to postpone or cancel. Therefore, all teams will come.”
“The Indian team should come. I don’t see them cancel or postpone coming here and we are confident we will host all the teams in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” he said.
He also shared his satisfaction with the ongoing upgradation of the stadiums, that will be hosting the Champions Trophy.
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“The stadiums will also be ready to host the matches on schedule and any remaining work would be completed after the tournament. In a way, you can say that we are going to have a brand new stadium,” he added.
It’s worth noting that Rajeev Shukla, the vice-president of the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI), has recently shared that the cricket board is awaiting the government’s approval. As of now, no decision has been made regarding the tour of Pakistan.
“No decision has been taken (yet). However, our policy is that for international tours, we always seek permission from the government,” Shukla clarified.
“It’s up to the government to decide whether our team should go to any country or our team should not go to any country,” the BCCI VP added. “In this case (also), whatever the government will decide, we will abide by that.”
It is worth noting that India has not travelled to Pakistan since the Asia Cup in 2008 due to the long-standing political tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
In contrast, Pakistan has made four trips to India in the last 16 years. Their most recent visit was last year for the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023.
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