The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has declared that it will take a tour with the Champions Trophy to every corner of the country. The announcement has come as a shocker because places in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has also been added to the list of areas.
The news also emerged in the light of a major drama, where BCCI insisted that the Indian team will not set foot in the country because of the current political climate and security issues. The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy is going to be organized in Pakistan.
“Get ready, Pakistan. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 trophy tour kicks off in Islamabad on 16 November, also visiting scenic travel destinations like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad”, a post by PCB said on Thursday.
What grabbed attention in its social media outreach was the reference to places such as Skardu, Hunza and Muzaffarabad, all of which fall in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, a disputed territory which India claims to own.
The insistence of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not to play in Pakistan has annoyed the Pakistan Cricket Board which is presently headed by Mohsin Raza Naqvi a minister in the federal government.
Reports of a cold war within the International Cricket Council (ICC) are hardly unexpected, and it has been reported that several formulas are being adapted to prevent a situation from occurring wherein the tournament takes place without India. The suggested dual model where matches involving India take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been one of the issues. Also, have averagely brainstormed ideas concerning changing the tournament venue altogether and also themes of the tournament being postponed for a long period of time. The PCB, however, wants to move forward in the region knowing India is not there. The cricket body that governs the world, the ICC, has not yet addressed where the tournament would take place.
The magnificent trophy has, on the other hand, arrived in Islamabad from Dubai. Using PoK as a centre of attention is part of an old stratagem of Pakistan. They commonly organize the visits of international politicians to PoK, which has been countered by India with forceful objections time and again.
