Pakistan will host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the nation has already started the preparations beginning with the proposal of venues to the ICC.
Pakistan are the defending champions of ICC Champions Trophy, having won the title in 2017. (Photo – Getty Images)
New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed three venues to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the initial draft schedule of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The three venues are – Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi which PCB recently conveyed to the ICC. It has reportedly been known that the tournament is eyeing a mid-February window as the PCB gears up to upgrade the venues, set to host the grand ICC event.
The CT 2025 will be the first ICC event in Pakistan in nearly 30 years. The Pakistan cricket team are defending champions having won the elite title back in 2017, defeating arch-rivals India in the finals. The tournament was deemed to be the final edition of the Champions Trophy in 2017 but the ICC in 2022 brought back the tournament in the new rights cycle (2023-27) and granted the hosting rights to Pakistan for the 2025 edition.
The tournament will be played between eight teams and is expected to last for two weeks as the exact dates are yet to be known. However, a recent press conference in Lahore which was addressed by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, has revealed that the schedule is finalised by the PCB and they have already sent it to the ICC.
“We’ve sent the schedule for the matches in Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy. The ICC’s security team came and we had a very good meeting. They looked at arrangements here and we’ll also share stadium upgrade plans with them. We’re continuously in touch with the ICC. We are trying to ensure we host a very good tournament in Pakistan,” Naqvi said.
Will India head to Pakistan for CT 2025?
As PCB has sent the schedule to the ICC, a major discussion will most likely be held upon India’s presence at the event. According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the initial draft sent to ICC has all the games, including India’s, being played in Pakistan.
However, the fate of India’s games will depend upon the geopolitical tensions between the two neighbouring nations that has gone all the way up in recent years. It all depends upon the Indian government granting permission to the BCCI to let its team travel to Pakistan. The bitter relationship between the two governments have barred India from crossing the border ever since the 2008 Asia Cup.
Last year, the PCB were compelled to adopt a hybrid model while hosting the Asia Cup as some games were played in Pakistan but all of India’s games and the final were held in Sri Lanka. Just a month later, Pakistan travelled to India for the ODI World Cup 2023 after much denying by the government but ultimately giving in.
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