Kanpur. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Rajiv Shukla said on Monday that the Indian government has to take the final decision regarding the national cricket team’s tour of Pakistan for the Champions Trophy next year. Pakistan is going to host this ICC (International Cricket Council) tournament to be played in ODI format from 19 February to 9 March.
Shukla told reporters here on the sidelines of the fourth day’s play of the ongoing second Test match against Bangladesh, “No decision has been taken yet. Our policy is that we always take government permission for international tours. This government decides whether our team should tour any country or not.” He said, “Whatever decision the government takes in this matter also, we will follow it.” The Indian team has not played a bilateral series against Pakistan since the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Both the teams face each other only in ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments.
Pakistan team visited India last year for the ICC ODI World Cup after a gap of seven years.
BCCI can request ICC to shift the tournament from Pakistan to Sri Lanka or Dubai. The last season of the Asia Cup was organized under the ‘Hybrid Model’. In which India played all its matches in Sri Lanka. With this, Sri Lanka hosted nine matches of the tournament while Pakistan hosted the remaining four matches. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, is against the idea of taking the Champions Trophy out of the country.
Pakistan all-rounder Hasal Ali had also recently said that if the Indian team does not travel to Pakistan, then the tournament should be organized without them. The ICC has made it clear that it will not force any member board to go against the government’s policy.