'Pakistan toured India despite threats' - Shahid Afridi attacks Jay Shah and BCCI over their Champions Trophy stance

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has taken a dig at India over their stance on visiting Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy next year.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has the hosting rights for the tournament, scheduled to be played in February-March 2025. However, it is still not confirmed whether the PCB will be able to conduct the entire competition in Pakistan or whether the tournament will be played in two different countries. The reason behind this is that the BCCI is yet to confirm its stance on sending Team India to Pakistan.

The bilateral relationship between the PCB and the BCCI is currently suspended due to the political tension between the two countries. As a result, the BCCI needs the permission of the Indian government in order to send the Indian team to Pakistan. India have not visited Pakistan since 2008 and it looks highly unlikely that they will be crossing the border next year for the Champions Trophy.

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India will continue to make excuses: Shahid Afridi

With India showing no intention of visiting Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, Shahid Afridi has taken a shot at them. The former allrounder has accused India of making excuses in order to avoid visiting Pakistan. He also reminded them that Pakistan visited India despite security threats before saying that India are welcome if they don't want to visit the neighbors.

"If India does not have the intention of coming to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, then India will continue to make excuses," said Shahid Afridi while speaking to the media.

"The Pakistan cricket team toured India despite threats. Indian cricket team is welcome if they don't want to visit Pakistan," he added.

India and Pakistan have not played any bilateral series since the 2012-13 season when Pakistan visited India for a short limited-overs series. Since then, they have only played against each other in ICC competitions and Asia Cup. In 2016, Pakistan had visited India for the T20 World Cup with Shahid Afridi leading the side. Pakistan had visited India last year as well for the ODI World Cup.

Meanwhile, the ICC has reportedly announced an an additional budget for the Champions Trophy in case India decide against visiting Pakistan. In that case, the tournament is likely to be played in two countries with UAE seen as the likely venue.

A similar arrangement was in place for the Asia Cup as well last year when PCB had the hosting rights for the tournament. India had played all of their games including the final in Sri Lanka.