The event is tentatively planned for February 16 or 17 in Karachi.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Check latest updated on Rohit Sharma visit to Pakistan. The participation of Indian captain Rohit Sharma in the ICC Captains’ Call of the 2025 Champions Trophy scheduled for February 2025 in Pakistan remains uncertain.
As per the details, the event is tentatively planned for February 16 or 17 in Karachi. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to receive any formal communication from the ICC regarding travel plans for Rohit Sharma.
“It [Rohit Sharma traveling to Pakistan] has not yet been discussed. It is not on the agenda yet,” Devjit Saikia, BCCI’s recently appointed secretary, told ESPNcricinfo.
The ongoing political tension between India and Pakistan complicates the matter further. While Pakistan has visited India for ICC events in recent years, India has refrained from playing in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. Bilateral series between the two cricketing giants have been absent since 2012, with the teams only meeting in ICC and ACC tournaments.
The BCCI has maintained that India’s matches in the Champions Trophy will not take place in Pakistan. As a result, the ICC, in coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), devised a hybrid model for the tournament. Under this arrangement, Dubai will host all of India’s matches, including the knockouts, if they qualify.
While there is a strong push from the PCB for all captains to participate in the pre-tournament photoshoot and opening ceremony, logistical challenges remain for the ICC. In a precedent-breaking move, the ICC did not hold a captains’ event during the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, instead opting for a digital launch featuring captains projected onto New York’s Rockefeller Center.
It is understood that the ICC is still finalizing travel arrangements for the 2025 Champions Trophy, with the teams also having the option to play two warm-up matches each, depending on their arrival schedule.
Although no Indian cricketer has visited Pakistan in recent years, there is a precedent for BCCI officials traveling there in an official capacity. In 2023, BCCI president Roger Binny and vice-president Rajiv Shukla attended a PCB dinner in Lahore during the Asia Cup after being invited by then-PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf.
