Navi’s remarks on Friday carried a more bullish tone than the official line taken by the PCB in the past on the issue of India’s reported reluctance to travel to Pakistan. “For the last two months, the Indian media has been reporting that India is not traveling,” Naqvi said. “I discussed this with them and my team and our position is clear: they must give us in writing any objections they may have. So far there has been no discussion about the hybrid model, nor are we prepared to accept one. Indian media is reporting it, but no formal communication has reached the PCB.”

Naqvi also said he believed Pakistan had shown “grand gestures” towards India in the past, referring to the team traveling to India to play in the 2023 ODI World Cup, despite India refusing to travel to Pakistan to Asia Cup. This tournament eventually adopted a hybrid model, with the latter stages being played in Sri Lanka.

“If we get a letter from India, I will have to go to my government and follow their decisions. Pakistan has shown big gestures towards India in the past and we want to make it clear that India should not expect such friendly gestures from us whenever [if they refuse to come]. The government will decide whether Pakistan will travel to a future event in India if they do not come to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. The PCB will not decide that.”

“Cricket should be free from politics,” said Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister. “Any sport should not be entangled in politics. If you don’t get along with another country, that’s another matter, but politics should not be involved in sports.”

“I don’t think anyone should make this a political issue. We will give each team as many facilities as we can. We would like to see fans from abroad also come to the tournament.”

Mohsin Naqvi

The PCB has said three venues – Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi – will be used for the tournament, but offered to host all India’s matches in Lahore, which borders the Indian city of Amritsar, for logistical and security convenience. It would make travel for all Indian fans traveling for the tournament relatively more straightforward, with the PCB saying it was prepared to arrange up to 17,000 visas for Indians during the tournament.

Naqvi said that “almost every country” wanted to watch the tournament in Pakistan and that the PCB would provide all the facilities it could. “Almost every country wants the CT to be played here,” he said. “I stay in touch with several boards and they’re all looking forward to playing here. I don’t think anyone should make this a political issue. We want to give every team as many facilities as we can. We want to to see fans from abroad also come to the tournament.”

Pakinomist understands that the BCCI has not discussed the matter internally. The Indian board’s stance has not changed and it will await the Indian government’s approval on whether to travel to Pakistan or not for the tournament. It could not be confirmed whether the BCCI has formally written to the Indian government seeking its approval or even informally checked for direction.

The tournament is scheduled to be held in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9, although the ICC is yet to announce the schedule officially.