"Pakistan Went To India, Now...": Ex-Pak Captain's Passionate Champions Trophy Plea

27.07.2024 - 04:02 sports.ndtv.com

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has shared his views on India's potential withdrawal from the Champions Trophy 2025. Ever since Pakistan were awarded the rights to host the Champions Trophy, there has been a debate whether or not India will travel to their neighbouring country.

India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series in over a year. While India's last visit to Pakistan came way back in 2006, the two last played a bilateral series in 2012/13, which was hosted by India.

Due to the political differences between the two nations, it has been reported that the Indian government is unlikely to give travel clearance to the team for the tournament in Pakistan.

For the unversed, Pakistan visited India last year for the ICC ODI World Cup. Amid the ongoing debate, Malik has urged the Indian team to visit Pakistan and keep politics separate from sports. "Any issues or disputes between the two countries are a separate matter and should be resolved separately in whatever way is necessary.

cricket India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Shoaib Malik India Pakistan

There continues to remain a deadlock over the ICC Champions Trophy's fate, with Pakistan Cricket Board keen to host the entire tournament at home while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is refusing to send the Indian team across the border. The Indian board wants its matches to be held in UAE or Sri Lanka, Pakistan has shared the proposal of hosting all of India's matches in Lahore. While no resolution has been reached so far, the ICC has reportedly prepared a Plan B in a case where the Indian team doesn't come to Pakistan at all.

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