Daily Times

The iconic 16th century Lahore Fort will be the site to the launch of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 as a ceremony is marked at the Diwan e Aam or ‘Hall of Public Audiences’ on February 16 (Sunday) at 6 pm.

The ceremony will be attended by key figures from the International Cricket Council (ICC), Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and ICC member boards, besides foreign envoys, former cricketers and political leadership of the host country. Some captains of competing teams are also likely to attend the event at the sprawling lawns of the fort.

A special panel discussion with the cricket legends is part of the roster for the star-studded evening festivities at the historic site once occupied by the kings and queens of India.

A grand entertainment extravaganza has been curated by Coke Studios Pakistan which will be followed by the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy Pakistan 2025 official event song performed by mega-star Atif Aslam.

The ceremony at the Lahore Fort will officially launch the tournament. Pakistan is the host of the eight-team Champions Trophy 2025 but four matches including the first semi-final will be co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan.

The UAE was inducted as the co-host after Indian cricket team’s refusal to play in Pakistan on the pretext of non-issuance of No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the BCCI on political and security reasons. The Indian team will play its group matches against Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand at the Dubai Cricket stadium, Dubai, while the first semi-final will also be played at the same venue. The final of the Champions Trophy will also be played in Dubai if India qualified for the final under a hybrid model mediated by the ICC. The PCB, the official host of the Champions Trophy, will get certain concession from the ICC under the deal.

The traditional captains’ photo-shoot could also not be possible as the Indian captain did not travel to Pakistan while the absence of the Indian stars has deprived Pakistani cricket fans to watch their heroes on Pakistani cricket fields.

The participating teams are arriving. New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, England, and Afghanistan have already reached Pakistan while only two warm-matches are scheduled in Pakistan while the third and last will be played in the UAE between Pakistan Shaheens and Bangladesh.

Though the ICC Champions Trophy launch is scheduled at the Hall of Public Audiences at Lahore Fort, no public but the cricket’s elite will be in audience. The hall was attached to the former Mughal King Jahangir’s palace and built in 1634. The forty-pillared audience hall embodies rich political history of the sub-continent as changes were made to its structure by the subsequent Mughal and Sikh rulers.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will show passion of Pakistanis for cricket to the global audiences but it will also present cultural and architectural face of the country during the next three weeks.