The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to announce the schedule of the marquee tournament soon. The tournament has approved India and Pakistan to play all its matches at neutral venues in a hybrid format till 2027.
Thus, Sri Lanka or United Arab Emirates can host the upcoming tournament. But according to the latest reports, the matches will be held in the UAE after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reached an agreement on the selection of a neutral venue.
2025 ICC Champions Trophy Indo-Pak matches likely to be held in Dubai
India and Pakistan are scheduled to play the match in the UAE and the ICC is making a strong request to the PCB to move the tournament to a hybrid format. However, a clarification on the same is still awaited from the ICC. According to a report, Colombo is being touted as a strong choice after co-hosting the 2023 Asian Cup, but Sri Lanka seems unlikely to host the 2025 Champions Trophy.
According to a report by Cricket Pakistan, all stakeholders including BCCI, PCB have reached an agreement that Dubai will serve as the neutral venue. Accordingly, the Gulf country will play at least five matches in the series, which includes all the three matches of the Indian cricket team. One semi-final and one semi-final will also go to Dubai.
Additionally, several reports have revealed that India have been placed in Group A along with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh. They are scheduled to host Bangladesh on February 20 and the much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash is likely to take place on February 23. However, there will be a clarification on the same after ICC announces the marked tournament schedule. It is the first time back since 2017.
