DUBAI, Dec 23: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that India will play their group-stage matches in the UAE for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The decision follows talks between PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak, who is a senior UAE minister and head of the Emirates Cricket Board. The talks led to a resolution that will see the UAE host India’s fixtures in the tournament.
“The PCB has picked the UAE as a neutral venue for the Champions Trophy,” Amir Mir, PCB spokesperson, said in a statement late Sunday night, cementing the UAE’s role as a key location for the competition.
This announcement follows weeks of speculation about where the teams would play, with the rivalry between India and Pakistan making the location of these matches especially contentious.
The much-anticipated India-Pakistan league encounter is now scheduled for February 23, 2025, a Sunday, and is expected to be one of the tournament’s standout games.
The other two teams in India’s group are Bangladesh and New Zealand, with India set to face Bangladesh on February 20 and New Zealand on March 2. These matches are all set to be held in Dubai, giving the UAE a prominent role in the tournament.
The 2025 Champions Trophy will open on February 19 with Pakistan, the defending champions, facing New Zealand in Karachi. Pakistan’s final league match will take place in Rawalpindi against Bangladesh on February 27.
Meanwhile, all other group-stage matches, excluding India’s, will be played across Pakistan’s major venues in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.
As the tournament progresses, the knockout stages will intensify with the semifinals scheduled for March 4 and March 5, with a reserve day for the latter.
The final match will take place on March 9, also with a reserve day in place. If India reaches the semifinals, the game will be hosted in the UAE, while Pakistan will host the match if India does not qualify.
The final match is scheduled for Lahore, with the option to move it to the UAE should India reach the title decider.
The hybrid hosting model was negotiated in the spirit of compromise between the relevant cricket boards. It stipulates that neutral venues will be used for matches involving Pakistan when the ICC events are held in India, lasting through to 2027.
This includes crucial knockout games such as semifinals and finals. The agreement is expected to extend beyond the Champions Trophy, applying also to the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup in India, the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, and the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup, the first event in the new cycle awarded to Pakistan.
The decision to stage India’s matches in the UAE is a pragmatic solution aimed at overcoming the political and logistical challenges that have historically hindered the organisation of international fixtures between the two nations.
It is expected that this arrangement will provide much-needed stability and cooperation within the region, with the UAE emerging as a neutral ground for some of cricket’s most eagerly awaited encounters. (UNI)
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