The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla on Saturday brushed aside the claims that the Men in Blue won’t be travelling to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy next year.
Earlier, reports in Indian media had claimed that the BCCI won’t send its team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. It was also reported that India would ask ICC to move its matches to a neutral venue.
“We do not know which source gave such information. BCCI has not put out any official information regarding this,” Shukla told ThePrint over the phone.
India has not travelled to Pakistan since 2008 and the last bilateral series between the two countries was in 2013. Since then, matches between the two teams have been limited primarily to International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments and the Asia Cup.
It must be noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has allocated Rs. 12.80 billion for upgradation of three stadiums ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled in February/March next year.
Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi presided 72nd Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, earlier this month, where the approval of the 2024-25 budget was granted. In the meeting held at the National Cricket Academy, all members of the BoG were present.
Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, Karachi's National Bank Cricket Arena and Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium will be elevated ahead of the marquee event.
In the meeting, members were briefed about the preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy next year in Pakistan. Chairman PCB stated that international standards would be maintained for the Champions Trophy. The upgrading of stadiums will be completed before the event.
The proposed dates for the Champions Trophy are from 19th February to 9th March.
This event will mark the return of the ICC Champions Trophy after an eight-year hiatus, with its last occurrence in 2017, when Pakistan emerged victorious by defeating India in the final.
