Pakistan’s veteran cricketer Shoaib Malik has urged team India to participate in the Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan. During an interview, he mentioned that politics shouldn’t come into sports irrespective of the bilateral issues between India and Pakistan.
While speaking to Cricket Pakistan, Shoaib said, “Whatever reservations there are between the countries, that’s a separate issue and should be solved separately. Politics shouldn’t come into sports. The Pakistan team went to India last year, and now it’s a good opportunity for the Indian team who haven’t played in Pakistan, so it would be great for them.”
He further mentioned, “Hum bahut acche log hai (we are good people). We’re very hospitable people, so I am sure the Indian team should definitely come.”
Meanwhile, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh said that Team India should not travel across the border to Pakistan for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy as the security situation in the neighboring country is still volatile.
Notably, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to seek the government’s approval for the visit before confirming their participation in the tournament. Last year, during the Asia Cup, the Blue team refused to travel to Pakistan, which led to India’s matches being held in Sri Lanka.
It is worth mentioning here that India and Pakistan have not played any bilateral series since 2012 with the Indian government limiting the cricket encounters with Pakistan to ICC or ACC events.
