A report suggests that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially sent a notification to Pakistan Cricket Board that India’s men cricket team would not visit Pakistan in 2025 to play the Champions Trophy. India would play its matches on some neutral venue, claims BCCI. Dubai seems to emerge as the favorite choice for now.
Yes, the BCCI has conveyed their concerns regarding Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan. They want to play matches at a neutral venue and Dubai is the strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue, a source told The Times of India.
Ever since Pakistan was awarded the 2025 Champions Trophy by the ICC, India’s participation has been in doubt ever since the strained diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan continued. According to schedule, the tournament dates shall be announced before November 11.
Last year, the Asia Cup hosted in a hybrid model, after India denied travelling to Pakistan; India’s matches were all played in Sri Lanka. Dubai has actually emerged as the favorite neutral venue for India’s matches because of its rich history of successfully hosting major cricket events and because it hosts the headquarters of the ICC.
‘There are no issues in Dubai. Hotels are not a problem, logistics not a problem, everything can be handled smoothly. And ICC does have things in control when it comes to Dubai,” added the source.
India’s participation in the Champions Trophy was still a topic of speculation as the BCCI didn’t say anything about India’s probable participation in the Champions Trophy which is going to host for the first time since 2017.
Meanwhile, the PCB is said to be receptive to changes in schedule of the Champions Trophy. “The PCB feels that even if the Indian government does not clear the tour to Pakistan, slight adjustments can be made to the schedule, as in all probability India would play its matches in Dubai or Sharjah,” a PCB source told PTI.