BCCI secretary drops a massive statement regarding Rohit Sharma’s travel to Pakistan ahead of the ICC champions trophy

Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said, “It is not decided yet whether Rohit Sharma will travel to Pakistan for ICC media events for the 2025 Champions Trophy”.

The tournament will be hosted by Pakistan, with India playing in the UAE due to the current hostile relations between the two countries. All pre-tournament media engagements, including captain’s day when all captains metaphorically pose with the trophies and address the media, will be in Pakistan.

Even as the BCCI denied the team any travel to Pakistan for security reasons, some reports in India did say that Rohit might not attend the media events either.

“It’s still undecided whether or not Rohit Sharma should travel to Pakistan” for media functions of the ICC, Saikia told the media, quoting the Hindustan Times.

ICC may also shift media functions of the pre-tournament to the UAE as a compromise for India, yet that decision would come too close to the tournament since this move brings logistical issues.

The Champions Trophy will kick off on February 19, with India making their first appearance on February 20, facing off Bangladesh in the UAE.

The hybrid model has been the upshot for ICC tournaments over a little more than a decade. The Pakistan Cricket Board has accepted and agreed that India’s matches will take place in UAE till at least 2027 in a deal with ICC that sees all matches held in a neutral venue.

This means that possibly the 2023 World Cup will be the last time in a long while that Pakistan will be touring India for cricket.

For a number of reasons, skipper Rohit Sharma has been in the spotlight lately. After his team, India, lost a 3-1 series in Australia, he joined the Mumbai state team to contest in the 2025 Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir beginning Thursday.

“Rohit has always remained calm. Even while playing at the international level, he is the same. Very calm in his approach. He knows his game so well that no one has to give him eye cues. Once he gets in, I am sure he will do well. He has never changed, which is a really good thing,” said Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane.