Lahore is set to host the final on March 9 unless India qualifies, in which case the final will be played in Dubai. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days
Our Bureau
Sydney/Mumbai
The Champion’s Trophy is returning after more than seven years, and India will see it as an opportunity to add another ICC title to its title cabinet, especially after the T20 World Cup success in Barbados. In the last edition, India made its way to the final but fell short against its arch-rival Pakistan and succumbed to a 180-run defeat. This time around, India will look to go all the way and take centre-stage with the trophy in India’s grasp.
Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes India’s white-ball team is “settled” and backed the Rohit Sharma-led side to lift the upcoming Champions Trophy. With the tournament just a month away from commencement, Irfan feels India has a good chance to bring the title home. “Team India can because if you look at the white-ball team, it is pretty much settled. To add to that, there are a couple of young gun players, that can be added as well. One of them is Nitish Kumar Reddy. That will only make the team stronger. Plenty of options. Bowling will be very crucial. The hopes are very high,” Irfan said in a video posted by Star Sports on X.
The eight-team event will comprise 15 matches in the 50-over format and will be held across Pakistan and Dubai. The previous edition finalists, India and Pakistan, are scheduled to face on February 23 in Dubai.
Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi will serve as the three venues in Pakistan, hosting the tournament. Each venue will stage three group matches, with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.
Lahore is set to host the final on March 9 unless India qualifies, in which case the final will be played in Dubai. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
Former Australian cricketer and ICC ambassador Shane Watson opined that it is “unfortunate” that the Indian cricket team isn’t travelling to Pakistan for the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy which is scheduled to take place next month in February.
“The beauty of the Champions Trophy is, that it’s only eight teams, but it does mean that every game there’s something riding on it. The World Cup, it’s a great thing that the smaller countries get an opportunity to be able to play in a World Cup, which is an amazing experience, but to be able to distil that down and just have eight teams, whether it’s eight teams or ten teams, but every team that you’re playing against is incredibly good and every team knows going into every game they have to be their very, very best and there’s not, apart from the stage in the World Cup when it moves into that, for it to start, for a tournament to be able to start so cut throat from that very first game, I love it. I love the thought of it being a high-end tournament where there is something riding on every ball,” the former right-hand batter added.
In the end, Watson concluded by saying that as Pakistan is hosting the mega event, it’s a great chance for the fans there to see the players from around the globe live in the stadium from their eyes.
In December 2024, the first major decision under the chairmanship of Jay Shah, the International Cricket Council (ICC) finally put an end to the Champions Trophy 2025 hosting rights issue, deciding that the upcoming event will be played in Pakistan along with another neutral venue. Also, the hybrid model has been decided for all ICC events in the 2024-27 cycle which will be held in India or Pakistan.
The 43-year-old said no cricket fan wants to miss the clash between India and Pakistan as it is a very big rivalry between the two sides and always something special happens in their game.
Due to strained political relations between the two nations, India has not toured Pakistan since 2008, when they participated in the Asia Cup. The two arch-rivals last played a bilateral series in 2012-13 in India, comprising white-ball matches. After that, India and Pakistan have primarily faced each other in ICC tournaments and Asia Cups.
The much-anticipated contest between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on Sunday, February 23. Bangladesh and New Zealand are India’s competitors in the group other than Pakistan. India will be playing against Bangladesh on February 20 and New Zealand on March 2, with all their matches likely to be held in Dubai.
