One of the most talked about upcoming ICC tournaments is surely the Champions Trophy 2025. Since the hosting rights were given to Pakistan, one question that came to everyone’s mind was ‘will India tour the neighbouring country for the tournament’? While many answers have been out including Sports Minister Anurag Thakur saying the Indian government and Home Ministry will take a decision, it will still be a huge deal as both sides do not indulge in bilateral series for a long time.
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Knowing India and Pakistan do not lock horns with each other in bilateral series due to geopolitical tension between them, ICC chairman Greg Barclay stated that the Men in Blue touring their neighbours country would be really challenging in the end. However, he added that the ICC really cannot do much in the matter.
“Yeah, we know it’s a particularly challenging issue to work through, but from my point of view, I cannot control geopolitical forces. I just hope cricket can be a force to help improve relationships between countries. That is the one great thing sport can do is help people and nations come together. If it can help in contributing to that, then it is fantastic,” said Barclay while speaking to reporters.
While India and Pakistan do not play bilateral series, other countries do, so when asked if the charm of these series will go away, ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said that different players will be seen stepping at different times keeping the rotation policy and bio bubble fatigue management in mind and this will keep the momentum of the bilateral games.
“I do not think the charm of bilateral cricket will go away. You will see a different range of players, in particular at the moment where people are moving in and out of bubbles, you will see players rotated a little more than normal time but judging by the reaction to the series that recently concluded in India, it does not look like that the appeal of bilateral cricket has diminished much at all,” said Allardice.
