Shoaib Malik breaks silence on team India unwilling to travel to Pakistan for ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik reckons that politics should not come into sports and India must visit Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The tournament will be held next year during the February-March window in three Pakistani cities Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi.

But there have been question marks over India's participation in the tournament which makes the tournament doubtful for the hosts Pakistan. India have not travelled to Pakistan since 2008 citing security concerns.

The government of India hasn't allowed the team to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns and it is speculated that the Indian government will deny the permission this time as well.

The political relations between the two countries have been strained over the past few years, especially since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, which were linked to Pakistan.

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Shoaib Malik opens up on India's potential withdrawal from Champions Trophy 2025

During an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Shoaib Malik spoke on India's possible denial to visit Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Malik opined that India must visit Pakistan for the tournament and keep away the politics from the matter of sports.

He gave the example of Pakistan visiting India last year for the ODI World Cup 2023 and expected the Indian team to return the favour.

"Any issues or disputes between the two countries are a separate matter and should be resolved separately in whatever way is necessary. Politics should not come into sports. The Pakistan team went to India last year, and now the Indian team has the opportunity to come here," Malik said.

"I think many players in the Indian team have never played in Pakistan, so this would be a good opportunity for them. We are very hospitable people, and I am sure the Indian team should definitely come," he added.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has left it up to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to convince the BCCI and send Team India to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.

India's last visit to Pakistan

India last visited Pakistan in the 2008 Asia Cup. Since then, the strained political relations between the two nations have meant very few matches between them. India and Pakistan mostly come up against each other only in Asia Cups or ICC tournaments as there is no bilateral series between the two of them.

The last bilateral series between the two countries was played in 2013 when Pakistan visited India for two T20Is and three ODIs. The T20I series ended in a 1-1 draw while Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1. Since then, Pakistan has visited India for the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Last year, India was supposed to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup. However, the refusal of the Indian government to provide the required permission meant that the tournament was hosted in a hybrid model.

India's matches, alongside the final of the tournament, were hosted by Sri Lanka. India went on to claim the title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final.