The suspense over whether India captain Rohit Sharma will travel to Pakistan for the opening ceremony and a photo shoot ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy is all but over. The Indian Express understands that because of the logistical challenges involved which sees teams arriving in Pakistan on different dates, there won’t be any opening ceremony, nor will there be any official photoshoot involving captains from the eight participating teams.
With India not travelling to Pakistan, there were questions as to whether Rohit will travel across the border for a photoshoot that was being planned alongside the opening ceremony. However, it is now understood that no such plans are in place and only a small ceremony is being planned by the hosts ahead of their opening match against New Zealand on February 19 in Karachi.
“In the past, Champions Trophy events haven’t really had an opening ceremony like in the case of a 50-over World Cup. Even when India hosted the 50-over World Cup in 2023, there was no opening ceremony. There was only an official photoshoot and a joint press conference with captains. For the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, none of it happened. So there is no such event this time as well,” sources in the know told The Indian Express.
It is understood that a photoshoot is also ruled out this time because England and Australia are scheduled to reach Pakistan only on February 18 or 19. It is one of the reasons why the event is unlikely to see any practice matches, which is the norm for ICC events.
Australia, who are without a win in the tournament since 2009, are currently in Sri Lanka and the tour ends only on February 14, following which they will take a short break before landing in Pakistan. Similarly, England after their India tour ends on February 12, are in line for a short break.
With the tournament just a couple of weeks away, all eyes are already on Pakistan as to whether they will get renovation of their stadiums completed in time or not.
India won’t be travelling to Pakistan and will be playing their group matches in Dubai.
