Why India won't step on Pakistan soil

The Proteas will count themselves lucky they were drawn in Group B, thus avoiding a three-hour flight to Dubai, where India will play all its matches in the ICC Champions Trophy.

That includes the semifinals and final, should the Indians reach that stage, providing Rohit Sharma’s team with a significant advantage. It also undermines the tournament itself. 

The breakdown in diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan, two of the sport’s powerhouses, forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to strike a compromise that will have profound consequences for future tournaments which take place in either of those countries. 

It was only in December that the ICC acquiesced to India’s stance regarding not playing in Pakistan. There have been virtually no formal engagements between the respective governments — and controversy has raged behind the scenes about whether India would play in Pakistan almost from the time the event was first awarded to it three years ago. 

Initially, the drama was ignored but once the tournament was on the horizon, the new ICC chairman Jay Shah, whose father Amit is a close ally of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, confirmed India — which refuses to face Pakistan outside ICC events — could play its matches in the tournament in Dubai. 

Pakistan have reciprocated, demanding that for tournaments in India, they get to play their matches at a neutral venue as well. India will host the 2025 Women’s World Cup and co-hosts the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka.

The lucrative fixture between the two nations, which is usually one of the most watched sporting events in the world, will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday February 23. The ICC has had to guarantee its broadcast sponsors that that fixture will take place, lest it falls foul of its rights obligations.