After a gap of seven years, the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy is set to make its way back into the international cricket circuit next year. The ninth edition of the tournament will be played between a total of eight teams while Pakistan has been named as the host.
In 2016, the ICC cancelled the Champions Trophy after the 2017 tournament, aiming to have only one major tournament in each format of international cricket. however, in November 2021, they announced that the tournament would return in 2025.
Champions Trophy 2025 Set to be Played Between Feb 19 and Mar 9
With a hectic international and domestic T20 schedule throughout the year, scheduling the Champions Trophy becomes a challenging job for the officials. Apart from international matches, domestic T20 leagues like IPL, SA20, PSL and many other holds a key spot in the first half of the year.
As per a report, the Champions Trophy 2025 is expected to be played between February 19 and March 9. A total of 15 matches will be played between eight participating teams during this window.
It is to be noted that the 2017 edition had a 19-day window, with the tournament starting on a Thursday (June 1) and concluding on a Sunday (June 18).
The report further claimed that the tentative dates of the upcoming CT 25 will be shared with the cricket boards soon so that they can adjust their franchise leagues accordingly.
TH ILT20 had announced that its third edition will be played between January 11 and February 9 while the SA20 will also be played during the same window. SA20 officials confirmed that the season will kick off on January 9 with the final on February 8.
Apart from the dates, it is still unclear whether all the Champions Trophy matches will be played in Pakistan. Particularly, the match between India and Pakistan is expected to be played outside Pakistan.
Though a report claimed that Lahore will host the Pakistan vs India clash in CT 2025, there were no official words regarding this. After the NDA came to power in Central, the government strictly refused to allow Indian players to travel to Pakistan for cricket matches.
Even in the 2023 Asia Cup where Pakistan and Sri Lanka were awarded the hosting rights, India played all of its matches in Sri Lanka including their clash against Pakistan. With the NDA government winning the 2024 election, the same is expected to repeat in terms of India travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.
If the same policy continues, the hybrid model used for last year’s Asia Cup could apply, meaning part of the competition could be held in the UAE.
However, sources say it is too early to determine whether or not the Indian team will visit Pakistan. “We will have some idea in the next two months,” said an informed source.
Apart from the upcoming Champions Trophy clash, India handed a 6 runs defeat to Pakistan in their meetup in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in New York. Jasprit Bumrah emerged as the Player of the Match for his extraordinary bowling spell.
