Rajiv Shukla: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Rajiv Shukla went to Lahore, Pakistan to see the semi -finals of the Champions Trophy 2025. He was invited by the Pakistan Cricket Board. After the semi -final match between South Africa and New Zealand, Rajiv Shukla was asked whether a bilateral series would be played between India and Pakistan in the near future. He clarified that it is subject to the approval of the Government of India.
We will follow whatever the Government of India says.
A senior BCCI official who arrived in Lahore to see the Champions Trophy semi -finals between New Zealand and South Africa at the invitation of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also said that the Indian team is not dependent on the fitted pitches for good performance. Rajiv Shukla told Pakistani media on Wednesday, ‘As far as you are asking about cricket between the two countries, it is absolutely clear that this is the government’s decision. Whatever the Government of India says, we will follow it.
Fans of the two countries want to resume bilateral relations
He further said, ‘Pakistan is organizing an international tournament after a long time and this is a good thing. He has made a very good plan. Rajiv Shukla agreed that fans of the two countries wanted to resume bilateral relations, but are not positive towards the idea of playing in a neutral location. It is true that fans of the two countries want teams to play, but the BCCI policy has been that bilateral matches should be played on each other’s land, not at a third (or) neutral site and PCB will have the same policy.
This has been a BCCI policy.
Rajiv Shukla further said that BCCI has always had this policy. The International Cricket Council (ICC) also has provisions related to government consent. This is a major provision, so it is done from the point of view of government consent. Many countries are ready to organize bilateral chains between India and Pakistan. To this, he said, ‘Every other country will offer hosting India-Pakistan, who will not do it?’
Regarding the government, he said, “We put our point before the government, but they decide after deliberations.” When the government takes a decision, it does so after considering many aspects. This is their internal matter. Rajiv Shukla rejected the argument that the Indian team, which qualified for the Champions Trophy final, had the advantage of playing only one place in the eight teams tournaments. He said, “When this decision was taken at the ICC level, it was decided that all matches in India would be in Dubai and the remaining matches will be in Pakistan, so it is not a question of proper or unfair.”
Different types of pitches in Dubai
Shukla said, ‘The Indian team is not dependent on the pitches, even in Dubai there are different types of pitches. The team plays based on their performance, players play on their strength and they do not depend on the pitch. When Shukla was asked if it was not better if the final was played in Lahore, he replied, “Australia should have won tomorrow but they lost so the final would be played in Dubai.”
