"If Rohit Sharma doesn’t want to come, he should not" - Basit Ali on reports of India captain skipping 2025 Champions Trophy opening ceremony

Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali recently commented on the reports of Team India captain Rohit Sharma not visiting Pakistan for the opening ceremony of the 2025 Champions Trophy. While Pakistan are the host of the International Cricket Council (ICC) event, the Men in Blue will play all their matches in Dubai, including the final should they reach there.

Basit opined that Pakistan should not be worried about Sharma reportedly giving the opening ceremony a miss or India not willing to print 'Pakistan' on their jersey.

Opening up about the recent developments, the cricketer-turned-expert said in a video posted on his YouTube channel (from 0:14):

"India have refused to print Pakistan's name on their jersey, and Rohit Sharma won't travel to Pakistan. But why do you get upset? Silence is the best answer. If they don't want to print, they should not. If Rohit Sharma doesn't want to come (for opening ceremony) , he should not come. It's that simple. The PCB should write an email to BCCI and record their protest. We should not do anything more."

The India-Pakistan saga for the 2025 Champions Trophy refuses to die down. The two neighboring countries were first at loggerheads over India's stance of not touring Pakistan for the competition. While that issue was resolved, a new controversy erupted ahead of the captain's meet.

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"You also do the same thing" - Basit Ali says Pakistan captain should not visit India for the opening ceremony of 2026 T20 World Cup

Basit Ali suggested that Pakistan should do the same thing during the 2026 T20 World Cup, which is set to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. He also reckoned that India's stance will harm ICC president Jay Shah and world cricket.

He added in the aforementioned video (from 1:28):

"This won't cause a problem for Pakistan, it will harm world cricket and Jay Shah. The 2026 T20 World Cup is in India. So, Pakistan can refuse to print India's name on their jersey. Even your captain should not go there. You also do the same thing."

India will open their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign with a clash against Bangladesh on February 20. The much-awaited India-Pakistan match is set to take place on February 23. Both the games will be played in Dubai.