Younis Khan sends 'Virat Kohli' message to BCCI amid Champions Trophy uncertainty: 'Only thing left in his career'

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The hosting of the 2025 Champions Trophy is clouded with uncertainty as doubts arise over India's willingness to travel to Pakistan. Bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan has been suspended since 2013, but Pakistan's recent visit to India for the 2023 fifty-over World Cup reignited discussions about a possible reciprocal tour.

Initial reports suggested that India’s matches would be hosted in Lahore, close to the border. However, it has recently been widely reported that the BCCI is hesitant to send the team to Pakistan, proposing instead a hybrid model similar to the one used for last year's Asia Cup.

If it happens, it would mean that one of India's star batters, Virat Kohli, would likely not play a match in Pakistan in his career. India's last tour of the country was in 2006, two years prior to Kohli's debut in international cricket.

Having retired from T20Is, Kohli is now focusing solely on ODIs, Tests, and the IPL. This makes his chances of playing in Pakistan slimmer, and former captain Younis Khan has urged for India to travel to Pakistan, as it is the “only thing left” in Kohli's career.

“Virat Kohli should come to Pakistan for 2025 Champions Trophy. It is our wish too. I think the only thing left in Virat’s career is to tour Pakistan and perform,” Younis Khan to News24, as quoted by OneCricket.

Kohli has, however, played a bilateral series against Pakistan when the side toured India for a limited-overs tour in December 2012. The 35-year-old batter has consistently performed against Pakistan across both white-ball formats in continental (Asia Cup) and global (World Cups) events but is yet to take on the side in Test cricket.

PCB leaving the decision to ICC

On Wednesday, it was reported by PTI that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has left it up to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to convince the BCCI to send its team to Pakistan for the upcoming Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in the first quarter of next year.

According to a PCB source, while the budget for the Champions Trophy was approved at the recent ICC meetings in Colombo, the schedule and format didn’t come up for discussion at all.