File photo of an India vs Pakistan game.© AFP
Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed that they have chosen the United Arab Emirates as the neutral venue for the 2025 Champions Trophy. “The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has chosen the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the neutral venue for the 2025 Champions Trophy,” said PCB spokesperson Amir Mir in a statement to IANS.
“The PCB has formally informed the ICC about the neutral venue decision. Now, India and Pakistan’s Champions Trophy matches will be held in the UAE. The decision regarding the neutral venue for the Champions Trophy was to be made by the host, Pakistan. The final decision on the venue was made after a meeting between Mohsin Naqvi and Sheikh Al Nahyan. Sheikh Al Nahyan, currently in Pakistan, is also the Chairman of the UAE Cricket Board,” he added.
The executive board of the International Cricket Council on Thursday confirmed that matches between India and Pakistan in upcoming ICC events till 2027, including next year’s Champions Trophy 2025, will be played at neutral venues.
The neutral venue arrangements 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). Moreover, it will also be applied to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, whose hosting rights have been awarded to Pakistan.
Due to strained political relations, India and Pakistan only compete in international events like the World Cup and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between the two nations was held in 2012-13, when Pakistan toured India for a five-match white-ball series.
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days. Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017.
Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.
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