The schedule for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, stated to begin from the third week of February with a duration to the second week of March, is yet to be officially announced by the International Cricket Council. The delay happened on the back of India’s decision not to trip to Pakistan, the host of the event, because of political reasons.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wrote a letter to the ICC, which was later forwarded to the PCB regarding their decision to not make a visit to the neighboring country due to security reasons. The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, wasn’t satisfied with the decision as he reckoned the entire tournament should take place in their country.
India hasn’t featured in a bilateral series since the 2008 Asia Cup, while the last series between these two teams in that terms came in 2012, when the Green Brigade made their trip to this part of the world, having done the same on two more occasions during the 2016 T20 World Cup and in the 2023 ODI World Cup recently.
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The BCCI wanted to activate the hybrid model, which would help them in playing their portion of the competition either in Dubai or in Sri Lanka. But Naqvi wasn’t prepared to accept the model at any cost. But later when the ICC assured that they would also follow the same mode in playing the upcoming events in the future by not touring India, PCB showed the green signal.
“We hope for an amicable solution with both India and Pakistan aggreging”- Rajiv Shukla
The rest of the event is going to take place on the three other popular grounds that the PCB has renovated in the form of the National Stadium in Karachi, the Rawalpindi Stadium, and the Gaddafi Stadium. ICC, however, is yet to confirm anything official, which has raised questions on the credentials of Pakistan hosting the tournament.
The air is expected to be clear during another meeting Monday (December 12). Ahead of this designated date, the former vice-present of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rajiv Shukla, confirmed their stance on the visit.
“We [BCCI] prefer a hybrid model. But as the ICC chairman is already looking after it and is in talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board, we hope for an amicable solution with both nations [India and Pakistan] agreeing to it without any bitterness.” Shukla addressed this during a recent interaction with PTI.
He also highlighted that the safety of the players would be their main aim for the eight-team tournament.
“The focus is majorly on our players’ safety, and hence, we cannot send them to Pakistan. We are looking for a middle ground to sort things out.” Rajiv Shukla expressed.
The reports have also stated that the Pakistan side won’t be playing any of the events in India, including the 2026 T20 World Cup, which is co-hosted with Sri Lanka. The Green Brigade, under the captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed, is the defending champion of the trophy, earning the crown in 2017.
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Naqvi, however, expected the Indian side to travel across the border for their take on making the trip to India during last year’s ODI World Cup, despite the Rohit Sharma-led side playing the entire Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, which forced the Babar Azam-led side to fly to the Island.
The draft schedule has been announced by the PCB, where the thrilling contest between these two sides is expected to take place on March 01.