Champions Trophy 2025: Inzamam-ul-Haq calls for IPL boycott amid India 'venue advantage' controversy

The ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 is hosted by Pakistan, but with a hybrid model in place as the Men in Blue are playing all their matches in Dubai after the BCCI refused to send India to Pakistan due to security reasons.

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Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has called for other cricket boards to boycott the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the ongoing controversy over India’s advantage of playing all their fixtures of the Champions Trophy 2025.

The ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 is hosted by Pakistan, but with a hybrid model in place as the Men in Blue are playing all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was adamant in its refusal to send India to Pakistan due to political tensions and security reasons. The International Cricket Cricket (ICC) decision to allow India to play all their matches at a single venue sparked the criticism from the likes of Saqlain Mushtaq, Nasser Hussain, Mike Atherton, Pat Cummins, and Rassie van dur Dussen, stating India got an advantage over other teams participating in the Champions Trophy 2025. 

Inzamam-ul-Haq joined the debate over India getting ‘venue advantage’. Amid the controversy, a former Pakistan cricketer reminded other cricket boards of the BCCI not sending Indian players to play other leagues other than IPL.

1. Speaking on a Pakistani channel, Inzamam-ul-Haq urged cricket boards to stop sending their players to play in the IPL as the BCCI is not willing to Indian players to play other leagues. 

“Keep aside the Champions Trophy. Top players participate in the IPL but Indian players don't participate in other leagues. Other boards should stop sending their players to the IPL. If you (BCCI) don't release your players for leagues, then other boards should take a stance," he said.

Indian cricketers, who are part of BCCI’s central contract, are not allowed to participate in the other franchise T20 leagues and The Hundred apart from the Indian Premier League. However, Indian cricketers are allowed to play in other leagues once they retire from Indian cricket, including IPL and domestic tournaments. Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik participated in the Nepal Premier T20 League and SA20, respectively, as they are no longer part of India's central contract and had retired from international cricket.

Pakistan cricketers have been banned from playing the Indian Premier League following the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008. The political tensions between two neighbouring nations led the BCCI to debar Pakistan players taking part in IPL since 2009. Before the IPL ban imposed on Pakistani cricketers, several players in the country took part in richest franchise T20 league, including the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Kamran Akmal, who played in inaugural edition of the tournament.

Meanwhile, India's 'venue advantage’ controversy has turned into a bizarre situation as Australia and South Africa travelled to Dubai. Two teams are yet to know the semifinal opponents between India and New Zealand. India and New Zealand are playing their final group stage of the tournament and either will finish at top of the Group A points table. If India win, they will face Australia in the semifinal. If New Zealand win, they will face Australia, while India will take on South Africa in the other semifinal.

This is not the first time India are playing at an alternate venue when Pakistan was the host of the tournament. In Asia Cup 2023, Team India played all their fixtures in Sri Lanka after BCCI was adamant in its refusal to send Team India to Pakistan. However, Pakistan toured India for the first time in seven years for the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they were knocked out after finishing sixth in the league stage of the tournament.