India vs Pakistan ICC events will be held in neutral venues until 2028. (PTI)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday ended a long-standing impasse on the Champions Trophy 2025, confirming that India will face Pakistan at a neutral venue after having refused to tour the hosting nation for the 50-over tournament.
The ICC also stated that all India vs Pakistan ties at ICC events will be played in the hybrid format until 2028. “This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).”
“It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply,” ICC said in its release.
India are placed in Group A with Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand for the forthcoming Champions Trophy. The highly anticipated schedule for the India-Pakistan face-off and the tournament will be released in due course, the ICC said.
India and Pakistan last met in the 2024 ICC men’s T20 World Cup in New York. The Men in Blue scripted a dramatic six-run win before marching on to clinch the title in Barbados. Their last ODI meeting occurred during the 2023 Cricket World Cup when India beat Pakistan by seven wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Last month, Pakistan, in its argument, had quoted an October 2024 letter circulated by the ICC board among its members. The letter talks about finalising the schedule that was approved by the broadcaster. The communication mentions that no country has raised objections to the itinerary.
Within a fortnight of that letter, the BCCI informed the ICC about their reservations over traveling to Pakistan. “Situations between two countries change within days. All we are doing is just going by what the Indian government wants,” said a BCCI official.
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