Former Pakistani cricket captain Salman Butt has asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) about India’s involvement in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which Pakistan will host. Butt pointed out that if India decides not to join the event in Pakistan, the ICC will need to deal with the situation. India’s last visit to Pakistan for a cricket event was in 2008 for the Asia Cup. In 2023, India said no to playing in Pakistan for the Asia Cup, so the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) changed the tournament format. Recently, Jay Shah said that India’s main players will take part in the 2025 Champions Trophy, but he didn’t say if this means they will go to Pakistan.
“We tend to make everything seem more exciting than it is. Some reports say Jay Shah might be open to the idea. But I don’t believe he’s shown any signs of agreement. I wouldn’t have gotten too excited even if he had, because it’s the ICC’s job to make sure all teams can play in Pakistan,” Butt said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Butt also talked about the ICC’s responsibilities, emphasizing that the council’s power and fairness will be judged by how they handle the situation if India chooses not to play in Pakistan. “If they decide to come, that’s great; if not, the ICC needs to figure it out. We’ll see if they can treat India the same way they treat other countries. This will show how strong and unbiased they are as a governing body,” Butt continued.
The 2025 Champions Trophy is coming back after not being held for eight years. The last time it happened was in 2017, when Pakistan won against India in the final game. The countries that will play in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy are Pakistan (who are hosting), India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Afghanistan, England, and Bangladesh.
