Champions Trophy: BCCI reacts to Rohit Sharma’s likely visit to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has broken its silence about Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma’s expected visit to Pakistan to attend the opening ceremony of Champions Trophy 2025.

Recent reports suggested that Rohit Sharma is likely to travel to Pakistan ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025.

According to Indian media reports, Rohit Sharma’s visit would be for a pre-tournament photoshoot and a joint press conference featuring the captains of all participating teams. This event, organised under ICC rules, traditionally takes place in the host country, which for 2025 is Pakistan.

But BCCI’s newly appointed secretary, Debajit Saikia, has stated that no proposal has been received regarding Rohit Sharma’s traverse to Pakistan.

In an interview with Indian media, Devajit Saikia said “We haven’t got any such proposal. This hasn’t been part of our discussions with the ICC”.

BCCI secretary was responding to a question about Rohit Sharma’s visit to Pakistan. He said that sending Rohit to Pakistan is not even in BCCI’s discussions.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to begin on February 19 with a match between Pakistan and New Zealand. India’s first game is slated for February 20 in Dubai, where they will face Bangladesh.

Before the Champions Trophy, the opening ceremony will be held, with teams being invited and all captains will participate in the traditional media session in Pakistan.

The BCCI has refused to send its team to Pakistan and after intense negotiations, the BCCI and PCB agreed that the Champions Trophy will be played in a hybrid model, with India’s matches in Dubai.

India and Pakistan are clubbed in Group A along with New Zealand and Bangladesh. India will play their first match against Bangladesh on February 20 before playing Pakistan on February 23.