KARACHI: The Champions Trophy begins Wednesday after a turbulent build-up that saw the tournament split between Pakistan and Dubai, and with England facing calls to boycott their match against Afghanistan.
The event, regarded as second only to the World Cup in the one-day game, runs until March 9 and is the first global cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades. India´s matches will however be played in the United Arab Emirates after the sport´s financial superpower refused to visit their neighbour over long-standing political tensions.
A month-long impasse ended in December when the International Cricket Council said that India would play their games in Dubai. It raises the prospect of the final of the eight-nation showpiece taking place there, rather than in Pakistan, if India get that far — a good chance given they are favourites to lift the trophy.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who only face off in international competitions because of the politics, clash in Dubai on February 23 in the group phase. England play Afghanistan three days later in Lahore in a match that has been met with a backlash in some quarters in Britain.
More than 160 British politicians called for a boycott in response to the Taliban government´s ban on women in sport. England Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson vowed the match would go ahead, saying a “coordinated international response” by the cricket community would achieve more than unilateral action.
The Champions Trophy will be Pakistan´s first ICC event since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka. Karachi and Rawalpindi are the other Pakistani cities that will stage games.
Pakistan became a no-go area for foreign teams after the visiting Sri Lankan squad were attacked by gunmen in 2009, leaving eight people dead and wounding several touring players. But with improved security across most of the country, international cricket returned to Pakistan in 2020.
India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh form Group A while Australia, England, Afghanistan and South Africa are in Group B. Two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals in Dubai and Lahore.
Pakistan are reigning champions, having defeated India in the final in 2017 at The Oval in London. But it is two-time winners India who are favourites, with superstar batsman Virat Kohli hoping to overcome a poor run of form by his sky-high standards.
Read more: Pakistan Beefs Up Security in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi For Champions Trophy
