Dubai: India and Pakistan have come to an amicable solution to play all International Cricket Council events on neutral venues, which has brought to an end the month-long snag that had hit the Champions Trophy 2025.
"India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue," said a statement from the ICC Board on Thursday.
The eight-team Champions Trophy ran into trouble last month when the Indian cricket board notified the ICC that their team would not travel to Pakistan. This decision followed the Indian government’s denial of permission for the national cricket team to tour, casting doubt on the event’s fate.
Hybrid fomat
However, discussions on the proposed “hybrid” format have been ongoing since late November, with no resolution achieved despite several meetings involving the ICC Board, representatives of the Indian and Pakistan boards, and officials from the other 10 member nations.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), reportedly, had agreed to the hybrid model — but on one condition: that every ICC tournament hosted in India until 2027 follows the same format, with Pakistan refusing to travel to India.
According to the latest agreement, the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, set to be hosted by Pakistan in February and March 2025, will be held in Pakistan while India will play their matches in a neutral venue to be announced.
The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.
Other events to be played at neutral venues
The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.
Along with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, to be hosted by India, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka will also follow the same pattern.
The 2026 World Cup might not face a big disruption as Pakistan could play all their matches in Sri Lanka, including the India-Pakistan contest. However, Indian fans will miss watching the India-Pakistan tie at home.
Facing only in bilateral series
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.
The Asian neighbours have only faced each other in ICC multinational events in recent years. The last bilateral series took place when Pakistan toured India in 2012-13. India last visited Pakistan for the 2008 Asia Cup, and the two nations have not played a bilateral series across the border for 18 years. However, Pakistan visited India during the 2023 50-over World Cup.
Pakistan was also forced to host last year’s Asia Cup in a hybrid format, with India’s matches and the final being played in Sri Lanka.
