On November 14, a Pakistani journalist questioned principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel about his stance on the issue, referring to the tournament as the second-largest cricket event after the World Cup.

The Pakistani journalist began by saying, “There’s a big cricket event in Pakistan.” Surprised, Patel replied, “Cricket? Oh, I didn’t have that on my bingo card. Go ahead.”

The journalist then went on, “It’s the biggest event after the Cricket World Cup, and India was set to participate, but the Indian government has refused to send the team to Pakistan. The Indian team last visited Pakistan in 2008, but due to political tensions, India has not travelled there since. Do you believe mixing politics with sports is a good idea? What’s your opinion on this?”

However, Patel made it clear that the issue is between India and Pakistan. He said, “As it relates to relations between India and Pakistan, that’s for them to address, whether through sports or other matters. I’ll leave it to them to speak about their bilateral relationship. It’s not something for us to get involved in, but sports is undoubtedly a powerful and unifying force.”

Read: Champions Trophy 2025 to reach India in January, ICC makes big announcement

Patel emphasised the importance of sports diplomacy in connecting people, mentioning its strong support from current and former Under Secretaries for Public Affairs. He stressed that sports play a key role in fostering human and people-to-people ties, a priority for the administration.

“You’ve seen this department really prioritise the role of sports diplomacy in connecting people. It’s something that our current Under Secretary for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Lee Satterfield, values deeply; and our former Under Secretary, Liz Allen, really championed. Ultimately, sports connect so many people and it’s a great way to build human-to-human and people-to-people ties, something this administration has strongly emphasised,” said Patel.

Earlier it was decided that Team India will not travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy, as the BCCI informed the PCB that security concerns prevent their participation. Instead, the Indian cricket board had requested to play all their games in Dubai.

The Champions Trophy, scheduled from February 19 to March 9, will feature the world’s top eight teams competing across three venues in Pakistan: Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.