India To Play ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Matches In UAE As PCB Chooses Neutral Venue

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has chosen the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the neutral venue for all the India matches in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The neutral venue arrangements will apply to several upcoming ICC events as well.

Source : PTI

India will play their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as Pakistan, the hosts, have chosen the country as the neutral venue for all of India’s matches in the tournament. This decision follows an agreement between the PCB and BCCI to adopt a 'hybrid' arrangement, as India refused to travel to Pakistan for the ICC event.

While the official list of fixtures is yet to be released, Dubai is now almost certain to host the highly anticipated India vs Pakistan match, which is expected to take place on February 23. The UAE also has two other international venues in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah but Dubai is likely the preferred choice due to its larger capacity.

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“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has chosen the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the neutral venue for the 2025 Champions Trophy. 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," a PCB spokesman said as quoted by IANS.

Neutral Venue Arrangements Set For Major ICC Events

The neutral venue arrangements will apply to several upcoming ICC events, including the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), scheduled for February and March 2025, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka). Additionally, this arrangement will extend to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2028, which will also be hosted by Pakistan.