Pakistan is all set to host the Champions Trophy in February 2025. The top seven ranked ODI teams, along with the host nation, will participate in the ICC tournament, which will return to international cricket after eight years. With BCCI setting its eye on yet another title haul after lifting the T20 World Cup last month, board secretary Jay Shah confirmed Rohit Sharma as the captain for the tournament last week. However, there is a possibility that India might not participate in the Champions Trophy altogether after expressing their unwillingness to travel to Pakistan.
The Champions Trophy will hold a significant position in the history of Indian cricket. Not only will it be Gautam Gambhir‘s first major assignment as the new head coach of the Indian team, it could also mark the end of the white-ball careers of Virat Kohli and Rohit, who earlier retired from the T20Is after the World Cup win in June.
India, however, are unlikely to travel to Pakistan, who are all set to host the first global event since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, for the Champions Trophy owing to the political tension between the two neighbouring nations. The Indian team have not played in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup and January 2013 was the last time they played a bilateral series in any format. Since then, both nations have only clashed at ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup.
The BCCI is, hence, likely to request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the tournament in either Sri Lanka or the UAE, much like what was proposed for the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup. However, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had accepted a hybrid model with Pakistan and Sri Lanka jointly hosting the tournament, where India played all their matches in the island country.
In May 2025, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla had stated that the Indian team would only be allowed to travel to Pakistan for the ICC tournament if the central government permits it. He said: “In the case of the Champion Trophy, we will do whatever the Government of India will tell us to do. We send our team only when the Government of India permits us to do so. So we will go according to the decision of the Indian government.”
With the Indian government unlikely to take the risk, BCCI’s hopes rest on the ICC’s decision. However, if the apex body expresses its unwillingness to change the tournament’s venue, India might pull out of the Champions Trophy.
If India don’t participate, Sri Lanka will replace Rohit Sharma’s men in the competition. The 2002 champions missed the cut after finishing ninth in the 2023 ODI World Cup points table group stage. It is also the first time Sri Lanka did not qualify for the tournament.
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