ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan: India's participation lies at the hands of the Government

Pakistan will be hosting the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, its first ICC event since 1996. However, India's participation is under the cloud, as the Indian government is likely to take the call.

It was welcome news for Pakistan after the International Cricket Council (ICC) handed the nation the hosting rights for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. As a result, the country would host an ICC event since the 1996 World Cup for the first time. However, just a day after, India's participation in the tournament was put under the cloud.

As per ESPNCricinfo, former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the current Indian Sports Minister, Anurag Thakur, has stated that the Indian government would be monitoring the situation in Pakistan at the time before taking the final call. He clarified that when it comes to global competitions, several factors are taken into account.

At the same time, security happens to be the main challenge in Pakistan, which is why many teams have pulled out in the past. None of the Indian sides has travelled to Pakistan since the Asia Cup 2008. The two teams last had a bilateral tour in 2005-05, when India travelled to Pakistan for three Tests and five One-Day Internationals (ODIs).

Although Pakistan toured back in 2007-08, the diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained ever since, following the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks. Pakistan toured India in 2012-13 for a couple of limited-overs series, but things again worsened between the two. They only meet in ICC competitions and the Asia Cup.