Khalid Mahmood, the past leader of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), believes it’s unlikely that India will come to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in 2025. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) probably won’t let their team play in Pakistan during the International Cricket Council (ICC) event planned for February-March 2025.
India and Pakistan don’t play bilateral series often because of their difficult political relationship. Khalid Mahmood talked about the chances of India coming to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy and said that since the BCCI is the wealthiest cricket board, they have a lot of influence. He also mentioned that other countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh might also decide not to participate in the event in Pakistan.
“It’s highly unlikely they’ll agree to play in Pakistan. India has the wealthiest cricket organization and holds significant influence. If they don’t send their team to Pakistan, I expect countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to do the same,” Mahmood stated on Cricket Pakistan.
Mahmood added that Pakistan should not use a “you do this, we do that” approach because it could lead to them skipping future International Cricket Council events in India.
“At this high level, you can only try to persuade other cricket boards to support you. India has a lot of influence in the ICC, so it wouldn’t help Pakistan to respond in kind. The fact is, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India says it won’t send its team and will play its games elsewhere, it lessens the reason for Pakistan to hold an ICC event,” he explained during the same conversation.
The Asia Cup 2023 was jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka because India did not want to go to Pakistan. The upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 might also have a similar arrangement, with either Sri Lanka or the UAE helping to host India’s matches. According to the draft schedule given to the ICC, Pakistan planned to hold all of India’s games in Lahore. But this schedule might change once India officially states they don’t want to travel to Pakistan.
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