Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has strongly supported BCCI's stance against visiting Pakistan to play cricket. With concerns over India playing in Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy, the 44-year-old believes nothing comes before safety and that BCCI should remain ingrained in its stance.
With Pakistan slated as the hosts for the Champions Trophy next year, India's probability of playing in the nation remains highly uncertain due to the security situation. Hence, the BCCI is likely to propose a hybrid model and could play their matches in Sri Lanka or UAE. The same happened during last year's Asia Cup.
Speaking to IANS, Harbhajan said India should not to go to play in Pakistan under any circumstances, claiming:
"Bharat kyun jaaye? Pakistan kyun jaaye, bharat? Bharatiya team vahan kyun jaaye, yeh mujhe aap answer kar dijiye. Vahan safety ke concerns hain. Vahan khud ke unke halaat aise hain ki aaye din kuch na kuch vardaat hoti hai. Toh vahan pe jaana mujhe nahin lagta surakshit hai. Toh BCCI ka stand bilkul sahin hai. players ki safety se upar kuch nahin hai, toh bilkul sahin stance liya hai BCCI ne. Usko main support karta hoon."
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(Why should the Indian team go to Pakistan? There is a safety concern in Pakistan. The situation in Pakistan is such that incidents occur almost every day. I don't think it's safe (for the team) to go there. The stance of the BCCI is absolutely correct and nothing is more important than the safety of our players. I support BCCI's stand)
Pakistan beat India to win Champions Trophy 2017 title:
It's worth noting that Pakistan had beaten India to win the Champions Trophy in 2017 in England. Batting first, the Men in Green amassed 338 in 50 overs on the back of Fakhar Zaman's 114.
Later, the pace trio of Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, and Hasan Ali rattled the in-form Indian batting unit, bowling them out for 158 to win by 180 runs. With Pakistan not hosting an ICC event since 1996, they will be keen to do it and win the same in front of their fans.
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