[Watch] "Mixing politics with sports" - Pakistani journalist asks 2025 Champions Trophy question to US State Department Deputy Spokesperson

Amid the 2025 Champions Trophy hosting dilemma, a Pakistani journalist sought the opinion of the United States (US) State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. During a press briefing in Washington on Thursday, November 15, the journalist asked Patel if India were doing the right thing by mixing politics with sports.

Pakistan have the hosting rights for the 2025 Champions Trophy. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the Indian team won't play any matches on Pakistani soil, resulting in a stalemate situation.

When a journalist asked Patel about the issue at the press briefing, he replied:

"It's (2025 Champions Trophy) the biggest event after the World Cup and India (are) due to participate in the event but the Indian government refused to send the cricket team to Pakistan. The last time the Indian team was in Pakistan was in 2008. Due to political tensions, India never traveled to Pakistan. So, do you think that mixing politics with sports is a good idea?"

India have not played a cricket match in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. Meanwhile, the two arch-rivals have not competed against each other in a bilateral series since 2012-13. While they continue to meet in ICC events and Asia Cups, India have made it clear that they won't tour Pakistan even for multi-nation tournaments.

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"ICC should take away the hosting rights of all global events from India and Pakistan" - Rashid Latif on 2025 Champions Trophy hosting dilemma

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif opined that the ICC should consider taking away the hosting rights of major tournaments from India and Pakistan for the coming years. He suggested that the two cricketing boards should work on improving their relations before hosting an ICC competition.

Latif told the Hindustan Times:

"My suggestion is that ICC should take away the hosting rights of all global events from India and Pakistan for the cycle of 2024-2031. ICC should tell these boards to first resolve all the issues and then we will give you the hosting rights."

"I think Pakistan are slated to host two ICC events, India are also slated to host four-five events in this time period. Take away the hosting rights, if these two teams don't want to play in each other's country, then I am just giving a suggestion that the hosting rights should be taken away by the ICC," he added.

The 2025 Champions Trophy is set to be played in February and March next year. The tournament will feature the top eight teams of ODI cricket.