Wasim Akram urges India, Pakistan dialogue for ICC Champions Trophy participation

Pakistan and Indian fans wave their national flags during the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 cricket match between India and Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on October 23, 2022. (AFP/File)

• Former Pakistan captain hopes Indian team will visit Pakistan and experience its hospitality
• Pakistan is scheduled to host the ICC Champions Trophy in February and March next year

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan cricket team captain Wasim Akram on Thursday urged the Pakistani and Indian governments to engage in dialogue to ensure the Indian team’s participation in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy tournament, slated to be held in Pakistan next year.
The tournament is scheduled from February to March 2025. The last time Pakistan hosted this cricket event on its home turf was in 1996, when it co-hosted the 50-over World Cup, which Sri Lanka won. However, Pakistan’s role as host has sparked considerable debate this time, as arch-rival India’s participation remains uncertain.
India has not played an international match in Pakistan since 2008 and declined to tour Pakistan last year for the Asia Cup, resulting in a “hybrid” model in which India’s matches were held in Sri Lanka. Pakistan, however, traveled to India to participate in the One Day International (ODI) World Cup last year.
“It does not depend on the Indian government or the Board of Control for Cricket in India as much as the Indian government,” Akram said while speaking about India’s participation in the tournament in an interview with Cricket Pakistan.
“I think, at that level, the Pakistani government and Indian government can have a chat that, look, differences apart, people-to-people contact is very important.”
The left arm reverse swing bowler highlighted how the people of both countries want cricket to take place between India and Pakistan. He hoped that the Indian team visits Pakistan for the tournament and witnesses the hospitality bestowed on them.
Commenting on Pakistan’s forthcoming T20 and ODI series in Australia, Akram advised all young Pakistani cricketers including pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah to focus on cricket and “forget what’s happening behind the scenes.”
“At times it’s difficult and next to impossible,” he added. “You got to have a tunnel vision, look straight and stick to your performance.”
He strictly told Pakistan cricketers to not get involved into “politics and X (Twitter),” emphasizing that the Pakistan team was right on track after defeating England in the Test series.
The Champions Trophy was originally known as the ICC Knockout when it was staged in 1998 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and in 2000 in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was renamed the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and was held every two years until 2009, when it was held in South Africa after the scheduled event in 2008 in Pakistan had to be canceled.
Subsequently, the event moved to a four-year cycle and features the top eight teams in the ICC ODI rankings. The first round comprises two groups of four with the top two in each group progressing to the semifinals and the winners contesting the final. The competing teams are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
Pakistan won the last Champions Trophy tournament held in England in 2017, beating arch-rivals India by 180 runs in a one-sided final.