The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has rejected a new proposal by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to allow the Indian team to return to their country after every match.
The PCB has promised to help Team India to allow them to cross the border after every game. Since India’s matches were to be played in Lahore and the city was close to the Indian border, the PCB saw it as a viable option to allow India to participate in the tournament.
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BCCI rejects PCB’s new proposal for India’s visit to Pakistan
However, it is learned that BTSO has not yet received such a request from PCB. Dainik Jagran reports that the news was confirmed by a senior BCCI official. The official later spoke about the idea.
A senior BCCI official said that for the first time no offer came from Pakistan. Even an offer to send the Indian team to Pakistan before the Champions Trophy match and return to India after the match will be rejected. pic.twitter.com/ZTJ1xwmpWp
— Abhishek Tripathi / Abhishek Tripathi (@abhishereporter) October 19, 2024
He claimed that even if such an offer came from across the border, it would be rejected. The proposal was made by the BCCI to allow India to visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in February-March next year.
This news will be a major blow to PCB’s chances of hosting the entire Champions Trophy in Pakistan. While all eight participating nations have agreed to travel to Pakistan for the tournament, the BCCI is yet to confirm India’s travel.
BCCI’s position on India’s participation
The BCCI made its stand clear and stated that India’s tour was dependent on the approval of the Indian government. If the Indian government does not allow the team to go to Pakistan, they will not be able to travel.
The PCB has already stated that it wants to host the entire tournament in Pakistan. However, if India does not visit Pakistan, the tournament could be held in 2023 in a hybrid model like last year’s Asia Cup.
Going ahead with India not in the tournament is not an option as most of the revenue comes from the country and it also includes the broadcaster’s share. The ECB chiefs recently cleared the air that the tournament cannot continue without India.
The ICC and PCB are looking for an option to include India and it remains to be seen how they proceed. According to the proposed schedule, the tournament will be held from February 19 to March 9 next year.
When was the last time India visited Pakistan?
The strained relationship between India and Pakistan has often affected their relationship in sports as well. The Indian cricket team has not visited Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. Both these teams have not played a bilateral series since 2013 when Pakistan traveled to India for a T20I and ODI series.
Although India does not want to travel, Pakistan constantly visits India for ICC tournaments. They recently traveled to the ODI World Cup 2023 where Pakistan finished fifth and failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
