PCB Chairperson Naqvi optimistic about India’s participation in ICC Champions Trophy

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairperson Mohsin Naqvi on Monday expressed hope that India will come to the country for the next edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, set to take place in 2025.

“Indian team mujhe puri umeed hai… Abhi tak koi aisi cheez nahi hai jiski wajah se vo postpone karey ya cancel karey. Toh sari teams aayengi (Team India will come to play the Champions Trophy, all the teams will come),” Naqvi said in a statement to the press in Lahore.

Pakistan has not hosted any major International Cricket Council (ICC) event since the 1996 ODI World Cup, which it co-hosted with India and Sri Lanka. It was supposed to co-host the 2011 edition of the tournament, but its rights were stripped after a terrorist attack on a touring Sri Lankan team’s bus in 2009. The tournament was then played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

India has not travelled to Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup, but Pakistan has visited India on three occasions: for a white-ball series from late December 2012 to January 2013, the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup, and the 2023 ODI World Cup, which was entirely hosted by India.

In the 2023 World Cup, Pakistan played two matches each in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, while the high-voltage match against arch-rivals India was played at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on 14 October.

Pakistan is currently playing against England in a three-match series, with the first Test at Multan starting today. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.

England is in fourth place in the ICC World Test Championship standings, with eight wins, seven losses, and a draw after series victories against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is eighth in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 standings following their series loss to Bangladesh at home.