India's participation or refusal in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 doesn't matter to Pakistan claims former Head Coach

Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has responded to India's potential withdrawal from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to be played in Pakistan. The BCCI has said that they will act as the government will ask them to in this matter.

Multiple media reports have said that India is likely to pull out of the tournament next year. The tournament will be played in Pakistan from February-March 2025. If India travels to Pakistan, they will be playing all their matches in Lahore.

Pakistan, alongside, India, England, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are eligible to play in this tournament. As per reports, Sri Lanka will probably qualify for the tournament if India eventually does not travel to play in Pakistan.

Saqlain Mushtaq On India Playing the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Meanwhile, Saqlain Mushtaq in his reaction to the matter has said that it is up to India to travel to Pakistan to play in the tournament.

"It's simple. If India wants to come, they can. If they don't want to come, it doesn't matter. There's no point in making a fuss about it. This won't make either party good or bad. This is ICC's event, and they will look into this matter, as they should," Saqlain Mushtaq said.

This is the first major event for Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup However, India's likely pull-out presents Pakistan and its cricket board a major challenge to tackle the problem. The two teams have not played a bilateral series since the 2012-2013 season. They have played against each other in ICC and ACC events.

The Indian team has not played in Pakistan since 2008 due to persistent security concerns and is unlikely to make the trip for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The BCCI has said it will follow its government's order in this regard.

“Pakistan can say whatever it wants about coming to India during the 2026 World Cup, but we are only waiting for the approval of the Indian government,” Shukla said on India's potential pullout from the tournament during IPL 2024.

Meanwhile, the BCCI has been constantly trying to figure out a way through which they can play in the tournament via the Hybrid model. Reports say that the board officials have requested the ICC to plan the tournament in the hybrid model. This would see the Indian team play their matches either in Sri Lanka or in UAE.

Nothing official has been said on this matter as yet. Meanwhile, the ICC has given PCB a budget of USD 70 million to host the Champions Trophy in Pakistan early next year. The decision was presided over by Jay Shah, the ACC President and BCCI Chief.

Along with the budget of 70 million US dollars, an additional budget of 4.5 million US million dollars has been given by the ICC to encounter an emergency. India's potential pullout threat might make the PCB host a few games across other venues within the country.

In recent times, India and Pakistan have played thrice in the 2022 T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup 2023, and the T20 World Cup 2024 with India beating Pakistan in all three games.

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