Pakistan confirms UAE as neutral venue for India's Champions Trophy matches

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Monday, confirmed United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the neutral venue to host all of India's matches during the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy, thus officially ending the standoff between PCB and BCCI.

India had earlier informed ICC that the Rohit Sharma-led side would not travel to Pakistan for the eight-team, ODI tournament, citing security concerns. The act left PCB disappointed as they, at one stage, threatened to pull out of the tournament. However, BCCI received strong backing from the International Cricket Council (ICC) amid the Islamabad unrest earlier this month.

On Thursday, ICC confirmed that Champions Trophy 2025 will be played under the hybrid model, with India set to play all their matches at a neutral venue, including if the team reaches the semifinals and final.

"UAE was finalised as the venue after PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the Emirates Cricket Board chairman Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan," PCB spokesman Amir Mir said in a statement on Sunday.

Mir said the PCB has "informed the ICC" about the selection.

Dubai set to host India's matches?

PCB's statement, however, did not confirm where the games would take place in the UAE, with Dubai considered the likeliest venue.

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, India will play against Pakistan on February 23, a Sunday. The other teams in India's group are Bangladesh and New Zealand. The Men in Blue will take on Bangladesh in their opener on February 20 and face the Kiwis on March 2. The defending champions, Pakistan, on the other hand, will kickoff their campaign against New Zealand on February 19 in Karachi. Their second league game will be staged in Rawalpindi on February 27.

The second group will comprise Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa. All matches, barring that of India, will be played across threee cities - Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.