Gautam Gambhir, the newly appointed head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, faces his first major challenge with the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to start in February 2025 in Pakistan. The tournament may also signal the conclusion of the illustrious white-ball careers of captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who recently retired from T20Is after India’s World Cup victory in Barbados. Therefore, the upcoming tournament holds immense significance not only for fans but also for Indian cricket in general.
Earlier this week, there were widespread rumors suggesting that India might refuse to travel to Pakistan for the ICC tournament, urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to either change the venue for the Champions Trophy or relocate India’s matches to a neutral country. These speculations also raised questions about India’s participation in the tournament if the ICC does not consider the BCCI’s request. However, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla dismissed all such rumors.
“We do not know which source gave such information. BCCI has not put out any official information regarding this,” Shukla told ThePrint.
Since the 2008 Asia Cup, the Indian cricket team has refrained from visiting Pakistan due to escalating political tensions between the neighboring countries. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan took place in early 2013. Subsequently, their encounters have been limited to multi-nation events.
In early 2023, Pakistan was initially set to host the entire Asia Cup tournament. However, due to the BCCI’s reservations about sending the Indian team to Pakistan, the Asian Cricket Council opted for a hybrid model. This arrangement saw all of India’s matches being held in Sri Lanka, including the tournament final.
In May 2025, Shukla emphasized that India’s participation in tournaments abroad hinges entirely on receiving approval from the central government. He said: “In the case of the Champion Trophy, we will do whatever the Government of India will tell us to do. We send our team only when the Government of India permits us to do so. So we will go according to the decision of the Indian government.”
If India decides to withdraw, Sri Lanka will be designated as the replacement team. The former champions failed to qualify after finishing ninth in the group stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup points table. This marks the first instance where Sri Lanka has not qualified for the tournament.
