Indian captain Rohit Sharma is all set to visit Pakistan ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. This comes despite the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) confirmation that India will not travel to Pakistan for their matches.
It is believed that Rohit Sharma will travel to Pakistan to participate in the opening ceremony of the Champions Trophy where all the captains of the participating nations will be present.
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Rohit Sharma will visit Pakistan before the Champions Trophy
According to IANS, the Pakistan Cricket Board is planning to host a major tournament to mark the return of the ICC tournament to Pakistan after a long gap of 29 years. The last time Pakistan hosted an ICC tournament was during the 1996 ODI World Cup where they were alongside India and Sri Lanka.
All the captains of the participating nations, along with India’s Rohit Sharma, will be present at the opening ceremony as it is standard practice at all ICC events. It will be a big moment as the Indian cricket captain will visit Pakistan for the first time since 2008.
“Indian team captain (Rohit Sharma) will visit Pakistan to attend the Champions Trophy opening ceremony as the PCB plans a grand event, marking the return of the mega international cricket event to Pakistan after 29 years,” a source was quoted as saying by IANS.
While India’s squad is yet to be announced, Rohit Sharma is all set to be named as the team’s captain for the major tournament. Rohit Sharma’s recent form has been worrying and he will be under pressure from the start.
Dubai will host India’s matches
India will not travel to Pakistan to play the Champions Trophy despite the latter being announced as the host by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The BCCI has confirmed that they have not received the necessary permission from the Indian government to send their team to Pakistan.
Due to India’s reluctance, Dubai has been selected as the hybrid model venue where India will play all their matches in the tournament. Dubai will still host India’s matches in the knockout stages if they manage to qualify that far.
The tournament will begin on February 19 when hosts Pakistan visit Karachi, New Zealand. The much awaited India-Pakistan match will be held on February 23 in Dubai. The Champions Trophy final will be played on March 9.
When was the last time India traveled to Pakistan?
India last played in Pakistan in 2008 in the Asia Cup. Since then, the team has not traveled to the country citing poor political relations between the two as the reason. The last bilateral series between the two nations was played in 2013 when Pakistan traveled to India for a T20I and ODI series.
However, Pakistan has consistently traveled to India for ICC tournaments despite India’s opposition over the years. But the ICC has announced that the same hybrid model will apply to events held in India, and Pakistan will not have to travel to the neighboring country.
