The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and the Federal Interior Minister, assured a brisk visa process for the Indian fans for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Team India has not yet confirmed whether its cricket team will travel to Pakistan for the ICC event. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has stated that the Indian government will be the one to make the final decision.
Meanwhile, India was set to propose a hybrid model for the ICC event just like the previous edition of the Asia Cup.
To be noted, India hasn’t crossed the borders since the 2008 Asia Cup. As Pakistan prepares to host the ICC event for the first time since 1996, Mohsin Naqvi has thrown a stone at BCCI to get its team to travel to Pakistan.
Naqvi promised a special quota of tickets for Indian fans and the visa issuance policy to be brisk which he is confident of attracting Indian fans.
“We will be keeping a special quota of tickets for Indian fans and we will try to make the visa issuance policy brisk,” Naqvi said.
There are travel restrictions between the countries due to political tension and due to the concerns, many Pakistan fans couldn’t cross borders for the ODI World Cup 2023.
With Pakistan set to host the tournament Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi have been picked to host matches, but the official schedule for the event is still pending.
The PCB hopes for India’s participation in the Champions Trophy and Naqvi is confident about the proceeding.
“The Indian team should come. I don’t see them cancel or postpone coming here, and we are confident we will host all the teams in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” Naqvi stated.
Officials from ECB including Chairman Richard Thompson have discussed the impact of India not participating in the event saying that without such a strong team as India is not feasible commercially.
The Asia Cup 2023 was set to be hosted by Pakistan but played in Hybrid format where Team India’s matches played in Sri Lanka. The anticipation for the Champions Trophy has increased a lot as the tournament returns after seven years when Pakistan secured a victory against India in the final.
