Ever since the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced its resolution for the hybrid model for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, there have been speculations about the venue where India will play their matches in the tournament.
The tournament will be played in a hybrid model as per ICC’s new resolution and India will be playing its share of matches outside Pakistan in a neutral venue. It is believed that the BCCI and the PCB have almost finalized the neutral venue and it is likely to be Dubai, UAE.
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India to play their Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Dubai
Earlier, it was speculated that Colombo is the frontrunner to host the Champions Trophy as a neutral venue. Colombo also successfully hosted India’s matches in the Asia Cup 2023 as the tournament was played in a hybrid model with Pakistan being the hosts.
However, a report by Cricket Pakistan states that the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Pakistan Cricket Board have reached a final agreement to host all the matches of Men in Blue at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
All the stakeholders are also in favor of Dubai hosting the games due to logistical reasons and Dubai’s experience in hosting big matches in the recent past. All the parties are believed to have agreed on Dubai as the venue for the games of Men in Blue.
India will play three matches in the group stage of the Champions Trophy. They need to finish in the top two of their group in order to qualify for the semi-finals. This means that Dubai is in line to host at least three matches of the tournament, which will be all of the matches in the group stage.
If the Men in Blue qualify further, Dubai will be hosting more than three games. The blockbuster India-Pakistan clash will also take place in this venue, although it is not official yet.
What is ICC’s new resolution?
The ICC passed a resolution in its board meeting a few days ago which was agreed upon by all the boards. According to the resolution, India and Pakistan won’t travel to each other’s countries for the ICC events scheduled in these two nations till 2027.
Instead, the teams will play their matches at a neutral venue which also includes the knockout games. The resolution begins with the Champions Trophy 2025 earlier next year. It will be available for the women’s ICC events as well.
This rule also applies to the Women’s T20 World Cup 2028 which was awarded to Pakistan. But the tournament is likely to be played in a hybrid model.
India’s group for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
The Men in Blue have been placed alongside Bangladesh, and New Zealand, and hosts Pakistan in the tournament. According to the draft schedule, they are likely to face Bangladesh on February 20 in the tournament opener.
A total of eight teams are participating in the tournament with four teams divided squally into two groups. The participating teams are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and hosts Pakistan.