Team India have angered Pakistan Cricket Board again ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which begins in Pakistan and Dubai next month.
Team India continued to anger Pakistan, the hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. First the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made it clear that Indian cricketers will not be travelling to Pakistan for CT forcing ICC to shift all of India’s matches to Dubai along with one semifinal and the final as well.
It is still unclear if India captain Rohit Sharma will be travelling to Pakistan for the official ICC Champions Trophy 2025 photoshoot and captain’s press conference. A new controversy has now surfaced ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 with reports suggesting that India has objected to having ‘Pakistan’ — the name of the host nation — printed on their team jerseys.
Although India will play their matches in Dubai under a hybrid hosting model, Pakistan remains the official host of the tournament. This objection has sparked fresh tensions, despite the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) previously agreeing to a compromise after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send its team to Pakistan.
A PCB official, speaking to the IANS news agency, accused the BCCI of politicising cricket by rejecting the inclusion of Pakistan’s name on Team India’s jerseys. The official also pointed out that India had earlier declined to send captain Rohit Sharma to Pakistan for the captains’ meet — an official curtain-raiser event for the tournament.
“The BCCI is bringing politics into cricket, which is detrimental to the sport. First, they refused to travel to Pakistan, then they declined to send their captain for the opening ceremony, and now they are reportedly opposing the printing of the host nation’s name on their jerseys. We expect the ICC to intervene and support Pakistan,” the PCB official told IANS.
‘BCCI is bringing politics into cricket, which is not at all good for the game. They refused to travel Pakistan. They don’t want to send their captain for the opening ceremony, now there are reports that they don’t want host nation (Pakistan) name printed on their jersey. We… pic.twitter.com/Z9FrF9FKit
— IANS (@ians_india) January 20, 2025
Despite the PCB’s persistent efforts, the BCCI has remained firm in its decision not to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the tournament. Ultimately, the PCB had to comply with India’s demands, though this agreement could impact Pakistan’s participation in future ICC events held in India.
With the Champions Trophy 2025 just around the corner, controversies continue to dominate the headlines, adding further intrigue to the much-anticipated tournament. ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will get under on February 19 with India playing their first match against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
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