New Delhi: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recently paid a visit to Pakistan to take part in the 23rd Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government and as it turned out, cricketing relations between the two nations didn’t stay out of the context. Although not many hopes were raised, discussions have been reignited about India potentially taking part in the Champions Trophy 2025 scheduled in Pakistan.
Multiple reports have emerged that the issue was brought up several times in the conversations between Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar. At some points, even Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi reportedly joined in. Naqvi is also a government minister. The decision is still of the Indian government to make whether the team will travel to Pakistan for the eight-nation 50-over tournament.
At this point, neither the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) nor the International Cricket Council (ICC) can weigh in on the fact but according to a Cricbuzz report, several developments took place as Jaishankar visited Pakistan, one of which was about the scheduling. The report states that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered unique but quite helpful assistance to the Indian team.
What’s the proposal about?
The assistance revolves around the Indian team preferring to return to India after each of their games – either to Chandigarh or New Delhi, to avoid staying in Pakistan due to security concerns. The PCB is understood to have already written about this to the BCCI as confirmed by a PCB official. There is notably a week-long gap between the last two matches of India.
The Champions Trophy will be held from February 19 to March 9 with the matches divided among Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi. The PCB has planned to conduct all of India’s games in Lahore due to the logistical ease and security concerns as well. Lahore was also opted as the venue for India’s games because of its close proximity to the border which would make it easy for the Indian fans wanting to cross over for the fixtures.
The three games of India are scheduled for February 20 (against Bangladesh), February 23 (against Pakistan), and March 2 (vs New Zealand).
