PCB Threatened Indian Team if They Disagree to go to Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2025: Report

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken a firm sand on hosting the Champions Trophy 2025 inside their territory, rejecting any possibility for a hybrid model. In a tit-for-tat case, the PCB has reportedly threatened to pull out of the 2026 T20 World Cup, which is set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, if the Indian team refuses to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.

The PCB’s unmoved position comes in response to the media reports by India which claim that BCCI is unwilling to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the prestigious tournament scheduled between February and March next year. Given the existing politocal relations and security reasons, team India has not toured to Pakistan since 2008 World Cup.

The BCCI has given hints to the ICC to implement a hybrid mode for the Champions Trophy, opening gates for India to play their matches in a neutral country.

The cricketing links between India and Pakistan have been filed with filled with political ad security conflicts since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, after which bilateral series were dismissed. The last time India toured to Pakistan was in 2008 for the Asia Cup. Since then, both the countries have only met only in ICC events or Asia Cup tournaments which were held in neutral venes.

A similar dead-end occurred during the 2023 Asia Cup, where BCCI’s refusal to travel to Pakistan led to the adoption of a hybrid model. Though the tournament was continued, Pakistan losing the hosting rights for the semi-final and final matches. This outcome made the PCB even more determined to hold the Champions Trophy 2025 entirely on their ground.

With balancing the interests of both cricketing powerhouses, while maintaining the integrity of international competitions, ICC itself finds it in a challenging position. The upcoming ICC Annual Conference in Colombo is expected to be a critical juncture where the PCB will highly oppose any hybrid model for the Champions Trophy 2025.

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