INDIAN sports minister Anurag Thakur has said the Government of India and the ministry of home affairs will take a call on India’s participation in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan at an appropriate time.
His remarks came after the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed names of 14 nations that will host its men’s white-ball events between 2024 and 2031. The Champions Trophy, which was last held in England in 2017 and Pakistan won it defeating India in the final, will be held in the Asian nation which has remained sidelined as an international cricket host for a long time over security concerns since the Sri Lankan national team faced terror threats while touring that country in 2009.
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Indian sports minister Anurag Thakur (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
When asked about his views regarding Pakistan being the host at a media interaction, Thakur, who has also been the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said, “When the time will come, the Indian government and the Home Ministry will take a decision. During the international championships, all the factors are looked upon.”
“Even in the past, many countries have refused to play in Pakistan due to security concerns. As you all know, many players were even attacked while playing over there and that’s a big issue to be dealt with,” he added.
Recently, teams like New Zealand and England cancelled their tours of Pakistan, leaving the country’s cricket administrators deeply disappointed. They were, however, elated after hearing the news of the country getting the hosting rights for the Champions Trophy, a miniature form of the ICC World Cup with all major teams participating.
It will be interesting to see how many countries will be willing to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in 2025. According to one source, the tournament might eventually be hosted in the United Arab Emirates which has served as Pakistan’s home soil for a long time and even entirely hosted almost all editions of the Pakistan Super League T20 tournament.
India last toured Pakistan for a bilateral cricket series in 2005-06 while Pakistan last came to India in 2012-13.
Eleven full members and three associate members have been selected to host two ICC men’s Cricket World Cups, four ICC men’s T20 World Cups and two ICC Men’s Champions Trophy events.
India will host the 2026 T20 World Cup jointly with Sri Lanka, 2029 Champions Trophy alone and the 2031 50-over World Cup jointly with Bangladesh. It will also host the 50-over World Cup in 2023.
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