Before the start of the potential Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to start in the third week of February, at home, Pakistan has a great chance of preparing itself through the tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa. They haven’t played an ODI since the end of last year’s World Cup in 2023 in India.
It was a very poor performance from the Pakistani side in that event, where they finished in the fifth position with just four wins under their belt. Two of those defeats came against the associate nation, Netherlands, and Bangladesh, while they were drilled by Afghanistan, who chased down the score with eight wickets in hand in Chennai.
The tri-series will start on February 8, while the final game will take place on February 14, five days before the beginning of the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan to host tri-series in upgraded Lahore and Karachi stadiums
As per the original schedule, the games were scheduled to take place at the Multan Cricket Stadium, but the reports have changed a bit, which claims that the games could take place at the upgraded stadiums of Karachi and Lahore.
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For the last few months, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has done its best to renovate the three grounds- the National Stadium in Karachi, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and the Rawalpindi Stadium. That has led the green brigade to miss the chance to host the last two Test series against England and Bangladesh in Karachi and Lahore.
The National Stadium was also supposed to host the two Test matches at home against West Indies at the start of the year before the focus shifted to the 50-over format of the game. The reason for the new development for the PCB is to check the fitness status of the ground before the start of the ICC event, which is returning to Pakistan after more than two decades.
The renovation work at all three venues is ending, so hosting the game of the tri-series will also be a good preparation in that aspect before the Champions Trophy, where the Mohammad Rizwan-led side will be defending the crown.
The official announcement on the dates and venues for the eight-nation competition has not been made by the International Cricket Council (ICC) yet, and recent reports have claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has accepted the hybrid model, which will see the Indian side play their portion of the event in either Sri Lanka or Dubai.
The decision came on the back of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informing that they won’t be able to make their trip across the border due to security reasons. At the initial stage of the entire incident, the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, was stern on not accepting the hybrid model for the Champions Trophy. But later, he also was pushed to melt the ice.
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Dubai is likely to be the ground for the Indian games for the ICC event, even though Colombo has also been considered to be an option by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The ICC is not aware of the sudden entry of Sri Lanka, as the details are expected to come by Monday (December 16). When India activated the hybrid model for the Asia Cup, Pallekele hosted the games.
The tri-series, for now, is nearly certain, as reported, to take place in Karachi and Lahore. However, some of the top-class Protea players could skip it due to the ongoing SA20 by then.