Still, no confirmation whether Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will visit Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy captains’ event, Pakistan raises questions.
There is still no confirmation whether India captain Rohit Sharma will travel to Pakistan to attend the captains’ event for the Champions Trophy in Karachi next month. The event is usually held by the host country, which this year is Pakistan and the tentative date is around February 16 or 17. However, the BCCI has yet to make any official communication from the ICC.
BCCI’s newly appointed secretary, Devjit Saikia told ESPNcricinfo, “It [Rohit traveling to Pakistan] has not yet been discussed. It is not on the agenda yet.”
It is still unclear whether the BCCI would need the Indian government’s permission for Rohit to travel to Pakistan.
Since 2012, India and Pakistan have played no bilateral series due to political tensions between the two, however, the two continued to meet at ICC tournaments and in the Asia Cup. While Pakistan has traveled to India for ICC tournaments in this period, India hasn’t played any international cricket in Pakistan since 2008.
Pakistan, initially set to host the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, eventually decided on a hybrid model when India declined to visit Pakistan for the tournament. Now the Indian team will play its matches in the United Arab Emirates for ICC events until 2027.
For the public and media’s speculation regarding the dress code, a PCB official expressed disappointment over reports that the Indian team would not wear Pakistan’s name on their tournament jersey. As a part of the rule of ICC events, teams have to include the logo, name, and year in their jersey.
In a separate development, Saikia confirmed that India would follow all the guidelines regarding jerseys for the ICC event. This clarification comes after PCB officials expressed disappointment over media reports that India would not wear Pakistan’s name on their tournament jersey.
A PCB official, on condition of anonymity, told IANS on Monday, “BCCI is bringing politics into cricket, which is not at all good for the game. They refused to travel to Pakistan. They don’t want to send their captain (to Pakistan) for the opening ceremony, now there are reports that they don’t want the host nation’s (Pakistan) name printed on their jersey. We believe that the world governing body (ICC) will not let this happen and support Pakistan.”
Saikia replied, “BCCI will follow every uniform-related ICC rule during Champions Trophy. Whatever the other teams will do regarding the logo and dress code, we are going to follow in true letter and spirit.”
Read More: India Squad for Icc Champions Trophy 2025
