Daily Times

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the official fixtures for the Champions Trophy 2025, more than a month after the schedule was expected to be shared.

The tournament, scheduled to take place in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9, has become embroiled in a dispute, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refusing to send its team to Pakistan, citing political and security concerns, despite assurances from all member boards regarding the security arrangements and the tentative match schedule.

On December 19, following weeks of wrangling, the deadlock over the hosting of next year’s Champions Tro­phy ended when the ICC announced that India will play their matches of the 50-over event at a neutral venue instead of Pakistan, who will get a similar arrangement for tournaments to be held in India till 2027.

Earlier in the month, the two-way hybrid model proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to address the issue of India’s refusal to send its team to Pakistan for the tournament was accepted by BCCI.

Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi will be the three venues to host tournament play, according to an ICC statement.

Each Pakistan venue will feature three group games apiece, with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.

Lahore will also host the final on 9 March, unless India qualify, in which case it will be played in Dubai.

On Sunday, the PCB announced the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the neutral venue for India’s matches for the championship. “Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days,” the statement said.

The three group matches involving India, as well as the first semi-final, will be played in Dubai.

Pakistan take on New Zealand in the Group A tournament opener in Karachi on Feb 19. The Dubai leg begins the following day with India taking on Bangladesh.

Group B begins on Feb 21, with Afghanistan squaring up against the Proteas in Karachi. A big weekend then kicks off with rivals England and Australia set to clash in Lahore on Saturday, Feb 22, with the much-anticipated Pakistan-India clash set for the day later. The eight sides in the Champions Trophy competing for the famous white winners’ jackets are the teams that finished in the top eight positions on the points table of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Group A of the tournament features current Champions Trophy holders and hosts Pakistan, along with India, New Zealand and Bangladesh, while Group B features Cricket World Cup 2023 champions Australia, alongside Afghanistan, England and South Africa.