England star player Ben Stokes is currently leading his team in a Test series against Pakistan. In a press conference before the 3rd Test between Pakistan and England Stokes was asked if he would return to Pakistan next year for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be held in Pakistan next February about four months from now. The tournament will feature the top 8 teams in international cricket competing against each other.
It will be the first time after more than ten years that Pakistan will organize an ICC event. Earlier the ICC had suspended Pakistan from hosting any tournaments or international matches after the terror attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in 2009.
The ban facilitated Pakistan’s removal as a co-host for the 2011 ODI World Cup as well as increasing pressure upon the country for future hosting. But the ban has been lifted now, many international teams has toured Pakistan for in the last couple of years.
During the press conference, a reporter asked Stokes if he would return to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. In response, Stokes simply told the reporter to “wait till February.” ESPN Cricinfo shared the video of this moment on Twitter.
Ben Stokes is the Test captain for England since 2019, while Jos Buttler is the ODI and the T20I captain for the same team as well. Stokes was in the England team during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 where the team struggled having been eliminated by Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Although Stokes is leading England in the current series, he missed the 1st Test and took charge in the 2nd Test, with Ollie Pope captaining the team in the first game.
Stokes had a tough time in the 2nd Test, scoring only 1 and 37 across both innings, and he didn’t take any wickets. Under his captaincy, England failed to dominate Pakistan in the 2nd Test, despite having suffered a heavy loss in the 1st Test when Ollie Pope led the team.
