ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Schedule: The ICC released the schedule of Champions Trophy 2025 on Tuesday. The tournament, which will be held in a hybrid model, will start on February 19 and run till March 9. 15 matches will be played in 19 days. Reserve days have also been kept for the second semi-final and the final. The group match between India and Pakistan will be held in Dubai on February 23.
India will play all its matches in Dubai, the team’s group also has Bangladesh and New Zealand. A semi-final will also be played in Dubai. If India reaches the final, this match will also be held in Dubai. While the remaining 10 matches of the tournament will be held in Pakistan. The Champions Trophy is going to be held after 8 years, the last time in 2017 was when Pakistan won the title by defeating India in the final.
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Champions Trophy 2025 at a glance
| Event | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tournament | 19 Feb – 9 Mar | Pakistan, UAE |
| Group A | Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand | |
| Group B | Afghanistan, Australia, England, South Africa | |
| Semi-final 1 | 4 Mar | Pakistan, UAE (if India qualifies) |
| Semi-final 2 | 5 Mar | Pakistan |
| Final | 9 Mar | Lahore (or UAE if India qualifies) |
India will start its campaign against Bangladesh
India is in Group A. The team’s group consists of Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. The other group consists of Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan. There will be two semi-finals on March 4 and 5, while the final will be played on March 9.
Champions Trophy 2025: Full Schedule
| Date | Match | Place | Time (PST) |
|---|
| 19 Feb | Pakistan v New Zealand | National Stadium, Karachi | 14:00 |
| 20 Feb | Bangladesh v India | Dubai International Cricket Stadium | 14:00 |
| 21 Feb | Afghanistan v South Africa | National Stadium, Karachi | 14:00 |
| 22 Feb | Australia v England | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 14:00 |
| 23 Feb | Pakistan v India | Dubai International Cricket Stadium | 14:00 |
| 24 Feb | Bangladesh v New Zealand | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | 14:00 |
| 25 Feb | Australia v South Africa | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | 14:00 |
| 26 Feb | Afghanistan v England | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 14:00 |
| 27 Feb | Pakistan v Bangladesh | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | 14:00 |
| 28 Feb | Afghanistan v Australia | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 14:00 |
| 1 Mar | South Africa v England | National Stadium, Karachi | 14:00 |
| 2 Mar | New Zealand v India | Dubai International Cricket Stadium | 14:00 |
| 4 Mar | Semi-final 1 (India if qualified) | Dubai International Cricket Stadium | 14:00 |
| 5 Mar | Semi-final 2 (Pakistan if qualified) | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | 14:00 |
| 9 Mar | Final (India’s final in Dubai if qualified) | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore or Dubai | 14:00 |
Champions Trophy 2025: Highlights of The Tournament
* In total, 15 matches will be played in the tournament which will last for around 19 days.
* Dubai International Stadium will be the neutral venue for the tournament where India’s matches will be played
* India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been placed in Group “A” and Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa in Group “B”.
* In Pakistan, matches will be held in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, while in UAE matches will be played in Dubai. ICC has also given hosting rights to one semi-final to Dubai. This first semi-final will be played on 4 March.
* All matches will be played day-night, 10th March has been reserved for the final. If for some reason the final is not played on 5th March, then the title clash will be played the very next day.
India won the title in 2013
The ICC Champions Trophy was started in 1998. Since then Australia and India have been its two most successful teams. Australia is the only team to have won two consecutive titles. They won the title in 2006 in Mumbai and in 2009 in Centurion, South Africa. India shared the title with hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2002 and then in 2013 they won the title by defeating England.
India-Pakistan teams will not play in each other’s country
India and Pakistan teams will not play cricket in each other’s country. All the matches of India in Champions Trophy 2025 will be played at neutral venues. The Pakistani team will also not come to India for any tournament till 2027. Its matches will also be held at neutral venues.
The information about this decision of ICC came out on Thursday, 19 December. This decision was taken earlier in the meeting. 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup is to be held in India, T20 World Cup in 2026 is to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
Earlier, when the ICC told the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about organizing the Champions Trophy 2025 in a hybrid model, the PCB had put forth a demand before the ICC not to send the team to India, which has now been accepted by the ICC.
All 15 members agreed to the hybrid model
A meeting of all the board members was held on 5 December in the presence of ICC’s new chairman Jay Shah. Shah also reached the Dubai headquarters this month. In the meeting, all 15 board members agreed to the hybrid model. Pakistan also did not oppose the decision in the meeting.
Why the decision was delayed
Initially, India had refused to send its team to Pakistan for this tournament. Pakistan initially insisted that India must come to Pakistan, but after India’s tough stand, the Pakistan Cricket Board has finally agreed to the hybrid model.
Ever since Pakistan got the hosting rights of Champions Trophy, there were speculations that the Indian team might refuse to go to Pakistan. India had earlier refused to go to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup in 2023. At that time, India’s matches in the Asia Cup were held in Sri Lanka.
After this, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) first proposed to hold all India’s matches in Lahore and send the players to India after the match. When India did not accept this, the PCB also refused to go for the hybrid model.
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