Dubai has been confirmed as the venue for all Champions Trophy 2025 matches involving India, including one of the semi-finals and possibly even the final if India gets there.
The schedule, officially released by the ICC on Tuesday, specifies that ‘semi-final 1 will involve India if it qualifies’ and will be played in Dubai and similarly, ‘semi-final 2 will involve Pakistan if it qualifies’. Furthermore, Lahore has been finalised as the host city for the final, but ‘if India qualifies for the final, it will be played in Dubai’. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days, an ICC statement confirmed.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo on Sunday, the decision to host India’s matches in the eight-team Champions Trophy away from Pakistan, the official host, and in the UAE was finalised after Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, met Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak in Pakistan. Sheikh Nahyan is a senior minister of the UAE and also the head of the Emirates Cricket Board.
Naqvi, the PCB chairman, said: ‘We are delighted that an agreement has been reached based on the principles of equality and respect, which demonstrates the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that defines our sport.
‘Our sincere gratitude goes to the ICC members who played a constructive role in helping us reach a mutually beneficial solution. Their efforts have been invaluable in promoting the interests of international cricket.’
The Pakistan v India top match in the group stage will be played on 23 February, on a Sunday. The other two teams in that group are Bangladesh and New Zealand. India will face Bangladesh on 20 February and New Zealand on 2 March.
Pakistan, the tournament’s defending champion, will start on 19 February against New Zealand in Karachi. Pakistan’s last championship match, against Bangladesh, will be played in Rawalpindi on 27 February.
The second group comprises Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa. The matches in both groups, apart from the matches with India, will be played in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
The two semi-finals are scheduled for 4 and 5 March and, as both matches have been allocated reserve days, it is not impossible that they will be played on the same day, even though Dubai is usually dry at that time of year.
The hybrid model was finalised after the parties involved agreed that, in return, Pakistan’s matches at ICC events hosted by India until 2027 will also be held at neutral venues. In all cases, knockout matches such as the semi-finals and finals will also be held at neutral venues.
The agreement starts with the Champions Trophy and will apply to the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup in India and the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. It will also apply to the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup, the first tournament in the next round of events that has now been assigned to Pakistan.
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