With around four months to go before the start of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, it’s yet to be clear if the Indian team is making their first trip to Pakistan, the tournament host, after a gap of nearly two decades. They haven’t been engaged in bilateral series in 2012, while most of their late meetings have been limited to ICC tournaments.
Recent reports have expressed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will be sending a delegation to Pakistan in the next weekdays to check the progress in the preparation for the Champions Trophy, and once they get the green signal from that team, they are going to announce the schedule for the tournament.
The Pakistan (PCB) is doing its best to make huge steps in making things perfect for the competition. The renovations have been going on on various grounds, as the National Stadium in Karachi missed the chance of hosting Test matches due to the Programme, while the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore won’t be having any games till January next year.
ICC to announce Champions Trophy 2025 schedule in October
The reports of Sports Tak have mentioned that the Pakistan Cricket Board is hopeful of announcing the tickets for the Champions Trophy soon, as with the allocation of the budget by the ICC, the governing body will announce the features.
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“Right after the ICC delegation’s visit, we are hopeful that the schedule and ticket details will be announced.” A close source from the ICC narrated. “The process has already been delayed, so we expect ICC to make the announcement soon. We have the budget allocated, and the preparations are moving according to plan. Now, it’s up to the ICC to decide.”
Pakistan has already declared the draft schedule of the tournament, where the Indian team is going to play all of their games in Lahore to avoid most of the travels in the country, while if they qualify for the semifinal of the event, that very game along with the final will also be played in Lahore.
Recently, the PCB chief, Mohsin Naqvi, was asked about the doubts about the participation of the Rohit Sharma-led side, to which he has shown positiveness of being in interaction with the other boards, including Jay Shah, the new ICC Chairman and the secretary of the BCCI.
“Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan; we are in touch with the BCCI Secretary. (We are) also in contact with the boards of the teams participating in the Champions Trophy.” Naqvi stated.
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In the draft schedule of the event, all the games have been moved among three cities, with Lahore hosting seven games five games will be played in Rawalpindi, while the rest three will take place in Karachi. Lahore is supposed to organize the mouthwatering India and Pakistan clash on March 1.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which the hosts will aim to defend, having won the last edition in 2017 under the captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed, is expected to run between February 19 and March 09. The final schedule will be declared in October.
