Mumbai/IBNS: The Champions Trophy in 2025 could well be moved to either Sri Lanka or the UAE as the Indian cricket team has expressed its unwillingness to travel to Pakistan for the tournament, news agency ANI reported on Thursday (July 11).
According to reports, team India is likely to request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the Champions Trophy in either Sri Lanka or Dubai.
India will not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. Will tell ICC to hold its matches in Dubai or Sri Lanka, a source in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was quoted as saying by ANI.
The development comes after Pakistan reportedly proposed all of Indias matches in one city to minimise their travel, and Lahore was chosen as the location where India would play all of their matches.
However, the BCCI is not interested in the prospect of travelling to Pakistan, as per reports.
The ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held from February to March next year in Pakistan.
Since Asia Cup 2008, India have not played any cricket tournaments in Pakistan due to tense relationships between both neighbouring countries, while a bilateral series from December 2012 to January 2013 in India also marked the final bilateral series between the two countries.
Since then, India and Pakistan have only clashed at ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup.
If the Champions Trophy 2025 moves to Sri Lanka or the UAE, it will be the second multi-nation tournament in the last two years to move out of Pakistan due to Indias unwillingness to travel there, as per reports.
The Asia Cup last year was played in a hybrid model where all of Indias matches were played in Sri Lanka while the others played in Pakistan.
Pakistan are the defending champions of the Champions Trophy, last held in 2017, according to reports.
