When Pakistan takes on India in their blockbuster Champions Trophy clash tonight, the game will be played at a neutral venue, in a move described as farcical by former England Test player and commentator Jonathan Agnew.

Despite Pakistan hosting, India is playing all its games in the 50-over tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.

It comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to play in Pakistan as a global cricket tournament returns to the country for the first time since a 2009 terrorist attack against the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

An agreement was reached last year between the BCCI, International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) do not have to play in the other country at any ICC tournaments through 2027.

That includes this year’s men’s Champions Trophy and women’s Cricket World Cup in August and September, as well as next year’s men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Agnew said it was “just not right” that India was getting favourable treatment in the tournament, which would see the giants of world cricket also play their semifinal at the Dubai venue.

“I feel very uncomfortable about the way that India is being treated at the moment,” he told ABC Sport.

“I don’t see how long this can carry on for? It makes a farce of these tournaments,” he added.

Pakistan opened the tournament with a 60-run loss to New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday, before travelling to Dubai to take on India tonight, then returning to Rawalpindi to take on Bangladesh on Thursday.

Australia is playing its three group matches in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi, while India remains in the UAE, having beaten Bangladesh by six wickets in their first clash.

“How can the home team, hosting its first international tournament for so long, be playing the biggest match of the tournament away from home?” Agnew said.

“It’s not right.”

Political tensions between Pakistan and India have long bled onto the cricket pitch, especially since Sri Lanka’s team was attacked in a terrorist attack in 2009.

Pakistan toured India in 2012/13 but India last travelled to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2008. At the 2023 Asia Cup hosted by Pakistan, India played its matches in Sri Lanka.

“It just can’t carry on like this,” Agnew said.

“[Cricket’s] shooting itself in the foot because two of the main teams aren’t playing each other purely through politics. It’s a great shame.”

Pakistan and India now only play against each other in global ICC tournaments, and faced off in the 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the PCB filing an official complaint with the ICC after the game “regarding inappropriate conduct targeted at the Pakistan squad” from the crowd.

Ahead of their headline-grabbing clash in Dubai, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq said he hoped his former team “take a stand and teach them a lesson”.

“[The BCCI’s] tantrums just don’t end. … Children here [in Pakistan] want to see Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Every child here wants to see them in action, but their tantrums just don’t end,” he told Pakistan’s 24 Digital Channel.

“I don’t know in which world they are living in and what they want to achieve.”

Ironically, the 2025 Champions Trophy is the first ICC event hosted by Pakistan since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.