A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official has expressed concern over the alleged decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which states that Indian captain Rohit Sharma will not be sent to Pakistan for the opening ceremony of the 2025 Champions Trophy. This tournament is set to begin on February 19, 2025.
It was expected that Rohit Sharma would participate in the traditional photo shoot of the captains and the pre-event press conference in Pakistan. However, India will play all its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai, including the major clash against Pakistan on February 23. However, the BCCI has neither confirmed nor denied the news regarding sending Rohit Sharma to Pakistan. The PCB official also expressed displeasure over reports that the Indian team is considering not printing Pakistan’s name on their jerseys.
An unnamed PCB official commented, “BCCI is bringing politics into cricket, which is absolutely not good for the game. First, they refused to travel to Pakistan, now they’re not sending the captain to the opening ceremony. Now there are reports that they don’t want to print the host country’s (Pakistan’s) name on the jerseys. We hope that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will not allow this and will support Pakistan.”
On Saturday, India announced its 15-member squad for the 8-team tournament, with Rohit Sharma as captain and Shubman Gill as vice-captain. Mohammad Shami, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are also part of the team. In the previous Champions Trophy, India reached the final but lost to Pakistan. This time, India will play its first match against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai and face Pakistan on February 23. India’s final group-stage match will be against New Zealand on March 2.
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