India has refused to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 and this has stirred a huge debate with Pakistan Cricket Board, media and former cricketers expressing their displeasure against India’s move.
Recently, the issue was raised by a Pakistani journalist during the United States Department of State’s daily press briefing. According to a report of Hindustan Times, the principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel of the U.S., was asked about his take on the whole ongoing issue, which left him stumped as the question came out of a sudden.
WATCH- US Official’s Response To Pakistan Journalist
A Pakistani Journalist complains in US Department of State press briefing of BCCI refusal to send the Indian Cricket team to Pakistan for #ChampionsTrophy2025.
Visibly shocked Dy Spokesperson Vedang Patel replies it's for Indian govt to decide on this not US. #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/1xx7pATnP3---Advertisement---— Ganesh (@me_ganesh14) November 16, 2024
“There’s a big cricket event in Pakistan,” the journalist asked.
Surprised by the question, Patel replied, “Cricket? Oh, I didn’t have that on my bingo card. Go ahead.”
The journalist further, said, “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?”
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“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,” Patel said.
