WATCH: US official addresses Pakistan journalist's query regarding India's involvement in the Champions Trophy

During the US Department of State’s daily press briefing, a Pakistani journalist raised the concern about India not sending its national cricket team to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

On November 14, a Pakistani journalist questioned principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel about the Indian government’s stance on not sending the national cricket team to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy, highlighting the tournament as the second-largest cricket event after the World Cup.

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

— Ganesh (@me_ganesh14) November 16, 2024

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 continued, “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?”

Patel, however, clarified that the matter lies between India and Pakistan. He stated, “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 highlighted the significance of sports diplomacy in bringing people together, noting its strong backing from both current and former Under Secretaries for Public Affairs. He underscored that sports play a crucial role in strengthening human connections and people-to-people relationships, which remains a key 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 would not travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy, with the BCCI informing the PCB that security concerns prevented their participation. Instead, the Indian cricket board requested to have all their matches played 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.