Champions Trophy 2025: Jay Shah opens up on India’s participation
Jay Shah, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has finally spoken about the possibility of the Indian cricket team traveling to Pakistan next February for the ICC Champions Trophy.
The ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in Pakistan early next year. However, it’s still unclear if India will participate, as the BCCI is waiting for government approval to send the team to Pakistan.
In a recent interview with Times of India, Jay Shah was asked about India’s chances of going to Pakistan for the tournament.
“No decision has been made yet,” he said.
“We haven’t taken a stand at this time. We’ll deal with it when the time comes,” he added.
Three cities — Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore — will host matches for the eight teams in the tournament. According to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) proposed schedule to the ICC, all of India’s matches would take place in Lahore.
The PCB has also set aside Rs12.80 billion to upgrade three stadiums: Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, Karachi’s National Bank Cricket Arena, and Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium, in preparation for the big event.
Apart from India, all the other teams set to participate in the Champions Trophy have already played in Pakistan, and the PCB believes India doesn’t have a strong reason not to join.
The proposed dates for the Champions Trophy are from February 19 to March 9.
This event will mark the return of the ICC Champions Trophy after eight years, with the last tournament held in 2017, where Pakistan defeated India in the final.
