LAHORE: The Indian team and captain Rohit Sharma are being questioned about whether they will travel to Pakistan to attend the opening ceremony of the Champions Trophy, an ICC event, given the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s adamant refusal to send its national cricket team there.
From February 19 to March 9, Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy.
Since a team led by Misbah-ul-Haq visited India for a white-ball series in 2012–13, India has not played any bilateral cricket with Pakistan because of political tensions between the two countries. In the meanwhile, Pakistani teams have been visiting India for various ICC competitions, but no Indian team has visited Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup.
With the approval of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the ICC has established a two-way hybrid model to accommodate India in the eight-nation Champions Trophy. This format will see all Champions Trophy matches involving India take place in Dubai.
In keeping with the same plan, the Green-shirts will not go to India for any ICC tournament in the future where India will host Pakistan’s matches in a neutral location.
Sources claim that the Indian media has questioned the PCB on multiple occasions to find out if the International Cricket Council or the BCCI had spoken with the PCB about this.
Despite having previously instructed the ICC to provide the identities of the squads of all participating nations, including players, coaching staff, and other officials, in order to assist them in promptly awarding Pakistani visas, the PCB has not received any such requests.
According to sources, the PCB letter was intended for every participant, not just those from a certain nation or player.
“All [the] teams and their captains will participate in the opening ceremony in Pakistan, the PCB has notified the ICC. This aligns with every ICC tournament. A person familiar with the matter informed Dawn on Tuesday that the PCB communication is not particular to any one nation or captain.
Regarding visas, the host country is in charge of granting them to all athletes, officials, business associates, journalists, and spectators. As it did last week when an ICC inspection team consisting of three Indian nationals visited locations in Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore, the PCB will carry out its duty. However, historically, every team is required to attend the ICC tournaments’ opening ceremony,” the insider continued.
Additionally, it has been learned that the ICC may use online communication to guarantee the Indian team’s and captain’s attendance at the opening ceremony.
