The Indian men’s cricket team would be playing its ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Dubai. This was reported by a news agency, AFP, on December 22, quoting a Pakistan Cricket Board official over the issue; PCB chose United Arab Emirates city Dubai as a neutral venue next year’s Champions Trophy.
“Pakistan has conveyed to the ICC formally that Dubai would now be the neutral venue for the Champions Trophy, so India will play its matches there,” quoted PCB spokesman by AFP.
The announcement came three days after the ICC enforced that all matches involving India would be held outside Pakistan in the eight-team event. As part of a similar agreement, Pakistan will play at a neutral venue in any event hosted by India until 2027, thus ending a month-long stalemate between the two arch-rivals.
Apart from India and Pakistan, two-time champion Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will feature in the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy, which is reportedly slated to be played between February 19 and March 9.
Since July 2008, no cricket match has taken place in Pakistan for India, and 16 years have passed with India and Pakistan competing several times in the UAE. The Indian-Pakistani matches in the Asia Cup 2018 and 2022 were held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, and the high-voltage encounter between the two sides in the year 2021 during the T20 World Cup was also at the same venue.
According to reports, this week ICC will announce the schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy. Last time the tournament was held was in 2017. In final of last Champions Trophy, Pakistan will win title for the first time by thrashing India by 180 runs.
Australia is the most successful team in the history of ICC Champions Trophy. The six-time ODI World Cup winners managed to add the Champions Trophy title to their glory by winning it twice. India won the trophy in 2013 defeating England in the final; in the 2002 edition, India was declared a joint winner with Sri Lanka when the final was washed out. South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, and Pakistan have won the Champions Trophy once.