Champions Trophy 2025: ICC Announces Schedule For Marquee Event; Reveals Date For India vs Pakistan Fixture

The tournament with eight participants will be played in Pakistan and Dubai with a total of 15 matches. Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi are the three venues in Pakistan which will host the fixtures of the competition. Each of those venues will host three group matches with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.

Group A teams, Pakistan and New Zealand will lock horns in the tournament opener in Karachi on February 19. The Dubai leg will start the next day with India squaring off against Bangladesh. Group B matches will commence on 21 February with Afghanistan taking on South Africa in Karachi. The participant teams have qualified for the tournament by finishing in the top eight positions in the points table of the World Cup played last year.

Group A of the tournament includes defending Champions Pakistan along with India, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Group B of the tournament comprises World Cup 2023 champions Australia along with Afghanistan, England and South Africa.

The tournament was surrounded by controversy even before its scheduling. India had denied travelling to Pakistan to play Champions Trophy and had demanded a hybrid model. In response, Pakistan had also put forth the condition that they would not play their matches in India if the neighbouring country hosts the ICC events. After a series of negotiations, the tournament was finalised in a hybrid model and ICC also announced that both the countries will not play in each other's soil in ICC events till 2027.