Has Team India’s Pakistan Tour Been Decided? BCCI Shares Important Update on Champions Trophy

Team India: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla on Monday said the final decision on the national cricket team’s tour of Pakistan for the Champions Trophy next year rests with the Indian government. Pakistan is to host the ICC (International Cricket Council) one-day tournament from February 19 to March 9.

‘Will follow government’s decision’

Shukla told reporters on the sidelines of the fourth day’s play of the second Test match against Bangladesh in Kanpur, “No decision has been taken yet. Our policy is that we always take the government’s permission for international tours. It is the government that decides whether our team should tour a country or not.” He said, “In this case also, whatever decision the government takes, we will follow it.”

BCCI can make this request

The Indian team has not played a bilateral series in Pakistan since the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The two teams face each other only in ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments. The Pakistan team visited India last year for the ICC ODI World Cup after a gap of seven years. The BCCI may request the ICC to shift the tournament from Pakistan to Sri Lanka or Dubai.

ICC will not force the board

The last season of the Asia Cup was organized under the ‘hybrid model’, in which India played all its matches in Sri Lanka. This led to Sri Lanka hosting nine matches of the tournament while Pakistan hosted the remaining four matches. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, is against the idea of ​​taking the Champions Trophy out of its country. Pakistan all-rounder Hasan Ali had also recently said that if the Indian team does not travel to Pakistan, then the tournament should be held without them. The ICC has made it clear that it will not force any member board to go against the government’s policy.