The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has designated Lahore as the only location for the India matches for the Champions Trophy that Pakistan has been awarded for the next year. Though the eight-team 50-over competition’s schedule is still being finalized, it is expected to begin around the middle of February. Rawalpindi and Karachi are the other locations that have been assigned.
The PCB has chosen Lahore for the India games after much consideration, however it is still unclear if India would visit Pakistan considering the hostility between the two nations and the recent case of India refusing to cross the border for the Asia Cup last year. The idea is that, as Lahore is the border city, it will be easy for the supporters to cross the Wagah and see their team play.
In order to prevent the Indian team from having to travel or alternate between locations for the matches, the organizers also wanted to be sure. They’ll be confined to a single city and spared the headaches of traveling. The PCB recently revealed that it has forwarded the sites and the Champions Trophy blueprint to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
After defeating India in the Champions Trophy final at the Oval in the previous competition’s 2017 edition, Pakistan is the current winners. Should it take place there, it will be Pakistan’s first time hosting the Champions Trophy. South Africa hosted the competition in 2008 after it was originally scheduled for the nation but was withdrawn owing to security concerns.
The competition was first held in 1998 in Dhaka and in 2000 in Nairobi under the name ICC Knockout Trophy. In 2002, it changed its name to the ICC Champions Trophy. Up until 2009, it was held every two years. The event was then shifted to a four-year cycle, however it took eight years to organize this time. The top eight teams in the ODI standings compete in this competition.
Two groups of four players each make up the first round; the top two from each group advance to the semi-finals, where the winners compete in the final. The ICC describes the competition as “short, sharp, and highly competitive.”
India has not visited Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup due to a number of issues, including a political impasse between the two nations and early security fears. India played their matches in Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup last September after PCB, the official host, was compelled to accept a hybrid arrangement involving two sites.
It will be quite interesting to see how the administrators of Pakistan, India, and the International Criminal Court handle the situation and how the governments—especially India’s—respond.
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