BCCI Secretary Confirms Pakistan's Name on CT Jerseys

Mumbai, Jan 22 (NationPress) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ultimately conceded and will allow the Indian cricket team's jersey for the Champions Trophy 2025 to display Pakistan's name as the host.

Recent reports from Pakistan indicated to IANS that the BCCI initially declined to permit the national men's team to feature Pakistan's name on their official kit for the Champions Trophy 2025.

However, the BCCI has now confirmed that the team will indeed showcase Pakistan's name on their jersey.

"We will adhere to all ICC guidelines," stated BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in a conversation with Cricbuzz. When reminded that the official ICC logo displays Pakistan underneath it, Saikia asserted, "We will comply with the ICC directive."

Saikia's statement resolves the controversy regarding India's objection to the official logo since the team will not be traveling to Pakistan. Pakistan is the official host of the Champions Trophy, scheduled from February 19 to March 9, as reported by Cricbuzz.

India is set to play their matches in Dubai after the PCB accepted a proposal to implement a hybrid model since the Indian government denied permission for the national team to travel to Pakistan.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) also played a significant role in encouraging the BCCI to include Pakistan's name on the kit, referencing rules that require all teams to feature the host nation on their jerseys.

According to the ICC's Members Participation Agreement, all teams must incorporate the host's name on their jerseys. All teams are also required to submit their kits to the ICC for approval of logos and other details. If a team fails to use the official logo, they are reminded of their obligations.

In the 2017 Champions Trophy, the participating teams wore jerseys displaying England and Wales, not just England. The Pakistan players donned shirts for the World Cup 2023 that carried India's name.

During the 2021 T20 World Cup, the Pakistan team wore jerseys featuring India's name as hosts, even though the event took place in the UAE due to the COVID situation in India.

Nonetheless, BCCI's recent rationale for using the name of the country where the team plays matches emerged after they previously rejected mentioning Pakistan's name for the 2024 Asia Cup, which was also held in a hybrid model with India playing in Sri Lanka.

At that tournament, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) clarified that the policy had changed, and there was no requirement to include the host country's name. At that time, India's Jay Shah served as the ACC President. Although Jay Shah is now the ICC Chair, the organization has chosen to uphold its regulations.

Meanwhile, the BCCI has not provided clarity on whether Indian captain Rohit Sharma will be attending Pakistan's Champions Trophy opening ceremony.

"The BCCI secretary has yet to disclose the Board's stance on whether Rohit Sharma will visit Pakistan for the opening ceremony, expected to take place in Karachi, which will host the inaugural game on February 19," the report stated.

India and Pakistan have only faced each other in multi-national tournaments and have not engaged in a bilateral series since 2012. The last bilateral Test series occurred in 2007 when Pakistan toured India. The last time India toured Pakistan for a Test series was in 2006, and two years later, they participated in the Asia Cup hosted in Pakistan.

Pakistan last visited India in 2023 for the 50 overs World Cup, playing against their archrivals in Ahmedabad.