'It will be great for cricket': Wasim Akram hopeful of India travelling to Pakistan for Champions Trophy
New Delhi, Oct 31 : Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is hopeful of India's arrival in Pakistan for next year's ICC Champions Trophy and sees it as a great thing for cricket.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has neither denied nor confirmed yet that the Indian team will travel to Pakistan for the tournament. The BCCI has repeatedly said they will follow the directions of the Central government.
"I think whatever I'm reading there are positive vibes from (the) Indian government and (the) BCCI. I also read somewhere they will play probably all their games in Lahore. They will probably come to Lahore and travel (back) the same night. I'm all for it, as long as India is comfortable," ESPNcricinfo quoted Akram as saying.
"And I can promise you, they (are) going to get looked after amazingly well. I mean, Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, (Hardik) Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, they have fans in Pakistan. The young cricket fans adore them," he added.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is determined to host the entire 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9. It has proposed holding all of India's matches in Lahore, a city near the Indian border, to simplify logistics and security arrangements. Additionally, the PCB plans to issue around 17,000 visas for Indian fans wishing to support their team. The final is set to take place in Lahore, along with any semi-final involving India, should they qualify.
The legendary pacer claimed that India's visit to Pakistan will be a huge thing in the world of cricket not only for Pakistan.
"People-to-people contact is very important in this day and ago. In this social media age, there's so much negativity all over the world, unnecessary negativity, in my opinion, and I think if India come, it will be great for cricket, and of course, it'll be great for Pakistan too," Akram said.
Since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, India have not played an international match in Pakistan. India did not travel to Pakistan last year for Asia Cup and their matches were played in Sri Lanka. However, Pakistan visited India to play in the ODI World Cup 2023 and made an early exit in the tournament.
Earlier this month, the ECB’s chief executive Richard Gould and chair Richard Thompson mentioned that there are “various alternatives and contingencies” if India decide not to travel to Pakistan, raising the possibility of a hybrid model. However, they emphasised that holding the Champions Trophy without India’s participation is not feasible, as "it would not be in cricket’s interests for India not to be playing in the Champions Trophy".
The Champions Trophy will feature eight teams - Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa - competing in two groups of four, followed by semi-finals and a final.