There is no clarity on whether Indian captain Rohit Sharma will travel to Pakistan for ICC’s official captain meet for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.
The Captain’s event will happen in the host country and is tentatively scheduled around February 16 or 17 in Karachi, but the BCCI has yet to get any official communication on it from the ICC.
“Whether Rohit Sharma travels to Pakistan for ICC media engagements is something that’s still not decided,” said BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
It could not be confirmed whether the BCCI would need the Indian government’s permission for Rohit Sharma to travel to Pakistan.
Due to the political tension between the two countries, India and Pakistan have not played any bilateral series since 2012, but continued to meet at ICC events over the years.
Despite the Pakistan team has travelled to India for ICC tournaments in this period, India have not played any international cricket in Pakistan since 2008.
BCCI has refused to send Indian team to travel Pakistan for their matches, the ICC in co-ordination with the PCB, the tournament hosts, decided to host the tournament in a hybrid model.
However, an agreement has been made that all IND-PAK matches in the ongoing 2024-27 cycle will be played at neutral venue.
It is understood that PCB has requested the ICC to ensure that as per standard practice, all teams and captains are available for the Champions Trophy photoshoot. It is understood is still finalising logistics and travel dates for teams.
However, the ICC did not organise a captains event ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup which was co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA.
Meanwhile, Saikia has clarified that India will follow the ICC guidelines on dress code set by the ICC for the Champions Trophy. It was revealed after BCCI had objected to the host nation’s name on their jersey.
“BCCI will follow every uniform-related ICC rule during Champions Trophy,” Saikia told PTI. “Whatever the other teams will do regarding the logo and dress code, we are going to follow in true letter and spirit.”
The Champions Trophy 2025 is set to commence with Pakistan and New Zealand clashing in the opener match on February 19 at National Stadium Karachi.
