pc: timesofindia
The hosts of the 'hybrid' 2025 Champions Trophy, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) that their neutral venue of choice for India's matches will be the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Pakistan has selected Dubai as a neutral venue for the Champions Trophy and this has been officially communicated to the ICC, which means India will play its matches there,” a PCB spokesperson was quoted as saying by AFP.
There are three international stadiums in the UAE – in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
According to Cricbuzz report, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Chairman Sheikh Mubarak Al Nahyan held a meeting to finalize their decision. It said that the crowded India vs Pakistan match is likely to take place on February 23.
However, the tournament schedule is yet to be officially announced by the ICC.
The impasse over the hosting model of the Champions Trophy, to be held from February 19 to March 9 next year, was broken after an agreement was reached between the ICC, PCB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on December 19, based on which India-Pakistan matches in the global event Matches will be played at neutral venues until 2027.
The ICC had said in its statement, “This will be applicable to the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 (Pakistan), ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 (India) and ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 (India and Sri Lanka).
The standoff began when the BCCI told the ICC that the Indian team would not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. Apart from India and Pakistan, the other teams participating in the Champions Trophy will be Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
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