LAHORE, Dec 19 (APP):The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday that the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on a hybrid model with matches to be played in the host country Pakistan and a neutral venue.
“India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue,” the ICC Board confirmed.
Pakistan was to host the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy in February-March 2025, but the impasse aroused when the Board of Control for Cricket in India refused to send its team to Pakistan for the ICC event citing security and political reasons. The Indian team demanded their matches to be shifted to a neutral venue in the UAE while Pakistan refused to do so.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) maintained that Pakistan cricket team had always participated in the ICC events in India despite similar security concerns and the Indian cricket team should reciprocate the goodwill gestures by the PCB. The BCCI refused to budge and, as a result, the PCB took a stern stance and refused to send its teams to India for the future ICC events as well. The PCB demanded the ICC maintain parity and allow a similar arrangement to Pakistan cricket in the ICC events to be hosted by India.
The PCB floated a ‘fusion model’ and demanded that the Pakistan cricket team should also be shifted to some neutral venue during the ICC events, hosted by India. Pakistan’s stance won and the impasse was only broken after the ICC Board agreed to a similar arrangement for the ICC 2024-2027 rights cycle.
The ICC said, “This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).”
The ICC further announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply.
The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.
The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.
