Karachi, 22 December
Champions Trophy: The issue of India not playing a cricket match in Pakistan in the Champions Trophy has been resolved. In the Champions Trophy, India’s matches will be played in Dubai and even if India reaches the semi-finals and finals through a good performance in the knock-out, its matches will be held in the UAE. A reliable Pakistan Cricket Board source has confirmed that Dubai has been chosen as the neutral venue following a meeting between PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak on Saturday night. Three days earlier, the deadlock over the hosting of the Champions Trophy had finally ended when the ICC announced that India would play its 50-over matches at a neutral venue instead of host nation Pakistan. The source said that if India does not qualify for the final, the final will be held in Lahore.
Earlier, India had refused to go to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy matches to be held in February-March next year due to security reasons. India has not played a match in Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 150 people were killed.
