Yusuf Pathan, India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup winning all-rounder, has backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision not to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2024.
Pakistan is due to host the ICC event, its first since 1996 World Cup from February 19 to March 9 with Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore as venues.
India has maintained a hard stance against sending the team across the border for the marquee event, which will take place in the early months of next year. While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) insisted on hosting the entire event in Pakistan, recent developments indicate that the deadlock has been broken.
Yusuf Pathan praises BCCI for its stance of keeping Indian players safe
Yusuf Pathan welcomed the decision and lavished praise on the Indian cricket board for thinking about the safety and the interest of its players.
“BCCI always thinks about the players and their safety. So whatever BCCI does is in the interest of the players and the nation, “ Yusuf Pathan told ANI.
India last traveled to Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup, however, the Mumbai terror attacks happened the same year in November. Since then, the Indian team has never set foot on Pakistani soil. However, Pakistan came to India in 2012-13 for a bilateral white-ball series, in 2016 for the T20 World Cup, and in 2023 for the ODI World Cup.
However, India has avoided reciprocating the gesture, as the Asia Cup 2023 was also to be hosted in Pakistan, but India’s refusal to travel meant, that Men in Blue’s matches were played in Sri Lanka.
BCCI and PCB Champions Trophy 2024 stand-off reportedly comes to an end
According to recent reports, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the PCB have struck an in-principle agreement to use a hybrid format for world events played in Pakistan or India through 2027.
This arrangement would allow both nations to compete in ICC tournaments held by the opposing country at a neutral venue. Although sources verified the deal to ESPNcricinfo, the PCB, the official host of the 2025 Champions Trophy, has not issued a public statement, confirming simply that conversations are ongoing.
It is still unclear whether the hybrid model will apply to both men’s and women’s tournaments. In the ICC’s current commercial cycle (2024-27), there are three global events scheduled to be hosted in either country, the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February 2025, the women’s ODI World Cup in India later in 2025, and the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
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