Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali commented on India's skipper Rohit Sharma's absence from the ICC Champions Trophy opening ceremony. It is now clear that Rohit won't be travelling to host country Pakistan for the event. Due to political tensions and security reasons, the Men in Blue will be playing all their matches in Dubai, including the finals if India qualifies.
Now the thing that is gaining all the headlines is the Indian team not printing the Champions Trophy logo featuring Pakistan's name on their jersey. As per ICC's official clothing code, every team in the tournament must wear jerseys printing the name of the hosts.
In a recent video shared by Basit Ali on his YouTube channel, he said that there's nothing to get upset about regarding India not printing Pakistan's name on their jersey and Rohit not traveling to Pakistan. Ali believes that PCB should just write an email to BCCi and record their protest.
"India has refused to print Pakistan's name on their jersey, and Rohit Sharma won't travel to Pakistan. But why do you get upset? Silence is the best answer. If they don't want to print, they should not. If Rohit Sharma doesn't want to come (for the opening ceremony), he should not come. It's that simple. The PCB should write an email to BCCI and record their protest. We should not do anything more."
Further, Basit said that this won't cause a problem for Pakistan; it will affect world cricket and Jay Shah. The upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup is in India, and then Pakistan can also refuse to print India's name on the jersey; the thing they are doing should also be done to them in the near future.
"It won't cause a problem for Pakistan; it will harm world cricket and Jay Shah. The 2026 T20 World Cup is in India. So, Pakistan can refuse to print India's name on their jersey. Even your captain should not go there. You also do the same thing."
India last traveled to Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup. After that, in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan traveled to India. The upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will kick off on February 19 with the first clash between Pakistan and New Zealand. India's campaign in the tournament will start on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai, and they will be clashing against Pakistan on February 23. India will be facing New Zealand in their final group stage on March 2.