The venue for India matches at the upcoming Champions Trophy has been decided, a report in PTI stated on Sunday. (More Cricket News)
International Cricket Council (ICC) zeroed in on hybrid model for the 2025 Champions Trophy after India refused to travel to Pakistan citing security concerns. India will now be playing all their matches in Dubai.
PTI cited a reliable source in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as saying that Dubai was chosen as the neutral venue after a meeting between PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak on Saturday night.
The schedule for the tournament will be out soon with Pakistan expected to host 9 to 10 matches.
Dubai will also host the final and semifinal if India qualifies for the knock out rounds. Lahore will be the venue for final if India does not qualify.
A similar hybrid venue arrangement will be followed for tournaments hosted in India as well till 2027. This arrangement will apply to the Champions Trophy 2025 (Pakistan), next year's women's Cricket World Cup in India and the T20 World Cup in 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
Indian cricket team has not visited Pakistan since 2008 Mumbai attacks where more than 150 people were killed by terrorists. Pakistan and India have only faced each other in ICC tournaments since then with a white ball series in 2012 in India being an exception.
The 2025 Champions Trophy will take place in February-March with Pakistan assigned as hosts. Apart from being the host, Pakistan are also the defending champions having won the last edition of the competition in 2017. Pakistan defeated India in the final to win the title.
