The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, is not leaving any stone unturned for their best preparation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to happen in their country from the second week of February. However, there is no confirmation of the development from India or the International Cricket Council.
The Indian team is yet to respond to their view on potentially traveling to the other side of the Border, something, which they haven’t done in the last 15 years. The Blue and Green Brigade last met in a bilateral series during the 2012 series, where the latter made their trip to India twice during the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Mohsin, who is also the Federal Interior Minister of the country, spoke about the proactive approach to visa processing, expressing the hopes of seeing a significant turnout from the Indian team.
“We will be keeping a special quota of tickets for Indian fans, and we will try to make the visa issuance policy brisk.” Naqvi expressed as the recent reports have claimed.
The Pakistan board has announced the draft schedule of the tournament, where they are ready to put all of the games for India in one ground, Lahore, to make sure the players won’t need to go through a huge journey. The tournament, however, will be expanded to two more grounds in Multan and Karachi, and it’s expected to begin on February 19, while the final will take place on March 09.
The participation of India will be under the approval of the Indian government as the BCCI has been waiting for the final decision remaining under the clouds. The policy remains a critical factor since the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 and the bilateral cricketing ties being limited to the ICC event and the neutral venues.
Pakistan to offer easy visas and best quality to India in special quota for Champions Trophy 2025
The PCB chairman is quite prepared to welcome the Indian fans on their home soil during the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.
“The Indian team should come. I don’t see them cancel or postpone coming here, and we are confident we will host all the teams in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.” Naqvi remarked as he highlighted the commitment of the PCB, ensuring that the Indian fans can attend the anticipated clash between the two arch-rivals.
The reports have confirmed that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman, Richard Thompson, has shoulder on the broader implication of India’s potential chances to remain absent from the tournament, which won’t be quite satisfactory news for the ICC.
The ECB officials consider that the success of the tournament is closely tied, to the participation of the Rohit Sharma-led side. That could lead them to use the Hybrid model and place their games in either Sri Lanka or Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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They also proposed the same model during last year’s Asia Cup 2023 and played their games in Sri Lanka, where the Babar Azam-led side despite being the host of the event, made a trip to the island and played the tournament.
The ICC is yet to reveal any update on the tournament as they have also been waiting to get the final view from the BCCI, which is waiting for the final approval of the Indian government, which may give the final verdict in the coming weeks,
