It’s official. The 2025 Champions Trophy will be played in a hybrid model, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed. In fact, as RevSportz reported on December 13, all the India-Pakistan matches in the ICC tournaments until 2027 will be played at a neutral venue. The schedule for next year’s Champions Trophy, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as the designated host, hasn’t been put out yet, but according to sources, the India versus Pakistan group league fixture is likely to be played on February 23. The tournament will be played in February-March.
“The ICC Board has today approved that matches between India and Pakistan played at ICC Events during the current rights cycle from 2024 to 2027 (which are to be hosted in India or Pakistan) will be played at a neutral venue proposed by the tournament host,” said the ICC press release. “This will apply to the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (Pakistan), ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (India and Sri Lanka).”
If India and Pakistan face each other in the knockouts and/or in the final, those matches will be played at a neutral venue as well.
As regards the neutral venue for the Champions Trophy, Dubai remains the frontrunner, although Colombo is said to be the PCB’s preferred choice.
For the next rights cycle, commencing from 2028, Pakistan will host the women’s T20 World Cup that year and once again, the India-Pakistan match will be played at a neutral venue. “In addition, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply,” said the ICC release. “Cricket Australia has also been awarded hosting rights for one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.”
That India’s Champions Trophy matches will be played at a neutral venue was one of the worst-kept secrets in cricket. Once the BCCI didn’t get the approval from the Indian government to send the team across the border due to security reasons, it looked like an obvious decision. In fact, with the Indian team not travelling to Pakistan, the BCCI requested for a hybrid model. With millions of dollars at stake, cancelling the tournament wasn’t an option. Also, in that case, the PCB would have gone bankrupt.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi initially insisted on playing the entire Champions Trophy in Pakistan. It led to an impasse. But as his country became isolated in the ICC, he had to accept the reality. The PCB, according to sources, demanded a written guarantee that all the future India-Pakistan matches in the ICC tournaments until 2027 would be played in a hybrid model. That wasn’t met with. Nor will the PCB get an extra share of revenue in the current cycle. The ICC, however, is not averse to a T20I triangular series involving India, Pakistan and another Full Member nation, as the PCB pushed for it to offset the loss for not hosting India’s matches. However, it will solely be a matter between the BCCI and the PCB.
With regards to the Champions Trophy’s schedule, the ICC said: “The match schedule for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 will be confirmed in the coming days.”
For more sports content follow : RevSportz