“I think that whatever I read, there are positive vibes of [the] indian government and [the] BCCI,” Akram said. “I also read somewhere that they will probably play all their games in Lahore. They will probably come to Lahore and travel [back] the same night. I am all for it, as long as India is comfortable.
“And I can promise you that they [are] They are going to take incredibly good care of me. I mean, Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, [Hardik] Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, they have fans in Pakistan. “Young cricket fans love them.”
Speaking ahead of Pakistan’s six-match ODI and T20I tour of Australia starting on Monday, Akram was hopeful that India would come to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
“Contact between people is very important nowadays,” he said. “In this age of social media, there is so much negativity around the world, unnecessary negativity in my opinion, and I think if India comes, it will be fantastic for cricket and of course it will be fantastic for Pakistan as well.”
India have not played an international match in Pakistan since 2008, and the United Arab Emirates are believed to be the most likely, but not the only, alternative venue should any part of the Champions Trophy be moved. The BCCI did not send a team to Pakistan last year for the Asia Cup, resulting in the tournament being switched to a hybrid model with the latter stages being played in Sri Lanka.
But Pakistan traveled to India immediately afterwards for the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they missed out on a place in the semi-finals.
The Champions Trophy will feature eight teams, with two groups of four, followed by semi-finals and a final. The participating teams are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
