Sports Minister Anurag Thakur opines India will not tour Pakistan for ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said that the question of the Indian cricket team touring Pakistan for the 2025 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will not arise until the neighbouring country stops itself from anti-national activities.

The ICC awarded the Champions Trophy hosting rights to Pakistan and although the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been trying to establish talks in persuading the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to allow the Indian cricket team to tour Pakistan, the Indian board have been firm on their stand.

The Champions Trophy will be held in February-March 2025.

Thakur concurred with the board’s unwillingness to tour Pakistan and said while it is up to the current board members of the BCCI to decide, he said the question of touring Pakistan doesn’t arise at all. “It is up to the BCCI to decide. When I was the BCCI president, I had said that two things cannot happen at a single time. When you spread terrorism in India and talk about playing cricket in Pakistan, these two things can’t happen simultaneously. First stop carrying out terror activities in India,” Thakur said during a public debate, hosted by News24.

He added that the day Pakistan stops indulging in terrorist activities India will definitely play in Pakistan. “The day Pakistan stops terrorism in India, India will go to Pakistan and play cricket. This is my opinion,” he added.

The last time India toured Pakistan was in 2008 and since then the two cricketing nations haven’t faced each other in any bilateral or multinational series. The only time the teams meet are in the ICC tournaments, notably the World Cups. However, Pakistan toured India for an ODI series in 2012 and has also visited the country for the 2011, 2016 and the 2023 World Cups.

Recently, Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup in 2023 and the Indian team’s refusal to tour Pakistan meant the tournament was co-hosted by Sri Lanka in a hybrid format with India playing all their matches in Sri Lanka.

Sources in the ICC have also said in the past that alternate venues in UAE could be used to conduct the Champions Trophy on a hybrid model, if India doesn’t tour Pakistan.