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India will not travel to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy cricket tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in a recent communication to the Pakistan Cricket Board, has cited security concerns behind its decision and expressed a desire to play that India play all their games in Dubai.
“This has been our stance and there is no reason to change that. We have written to them and asked them to shift our games to Dubai,” a source told The Indian Express.
The top eight teams of the world are to take part in the February 19 to March 9 50-over ICC event that has Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi as host cities.
Sources said the BCCI has reiterated its stand over Pakistan “in consultation with the government”. Last year before the Asia Cup, India, despite pressure from hosts Pakistan, was able to shift its matches to Sri Lanka.
This comes after hopes were raised about cricket normalcy returning to the region following last month’s meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting at Islamabad.
This was the first direct conversation between the two nations at this level since 2015.
In the aftermath of this cordial meeting, thaw seemed to be on cards and resumption of cricket ties was talked about. Even the PCB was bending backwards to convince India to make the trip across the border. The Pakistan board had given BCCI the option of the Indian team returning to India after every game.
However, since the Jaishankar visit on October 16, there have been a string of terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir killing 16 people including two soldiers.
The last time India toured Pakistan was in 2006 when the Rahul Dravid team won an ODI series 4-1. Of late, Pakistan has hosted England and Bangladesh.
