BCCI prioritizes player safety amid ICC Champions Trophy 2025 uncertainty, says ‘cannot send them…’

New Delhi: The situation around the Champions Trophy is still up in the air. Making its position clear to the ICC, the BCCI has stated that, due to concerns over safety, a tour to Pakistan by the Indian Cricket Team is off the table.

In the face of progressing time, the future of the Champions League remains more unpredictable than ever. Speculations are rife about a prospective hybrid model that might see India’s matches being staged in Dubai. Even so, the ICC hasn’t released any official news, further fueling skepticism over Pakistan’s capacity to host the event.

Everyone is eagerly awaiting the Champions Trophy schedule, which is expected to be revealed on Monday. In the meantime, Rajeev Shukla, the BCCI Vice President, has once again clarified India’s stance on the tournament.

In an interaction with PTI, he said, “We [BCCI] prefer a hybrid model. But as the ICC chairman is already looking after it and is in talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board, we hope for an amicable solution with both nations [India and Pakistan] agreeing to it without any bitterness.

“The focus is majorly on our players’ safety and hence we cannot send them to Pakistan. We are looking for a middle ground to sort things out.”

News is surfacing that the Pakistan Cricket Board has the choice to forgo the journey to India for the ICC 2026 T20 World Cup, which India and Sri Lanka will join hands to host.

India’s last cricket tour to Pakistan was back in 2008 for the Asia Cup, with the team led by captain MS Dhoni. That said, Pakistan has not shied away from participating in ICC tournaments hosted by India. The most recent instance was their participation in the one-day international World Cup that took place just last year.

Looking ahead to 2031, India is expected to house three major ICC tournaments, not to mention the Women’s World Cup which is already in the calendar for 2025.