ICC events: Pakistan, India to play matches at neutral venues during 2024-27

ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s 2025 Champions Trophy will be held under a hybrid model, with India set to play their matches at a neutral venue rather than in the host country, Pakistan.

“India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed,” said a statement released by the council. “This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan).”

The announcement ended a month-long standoff after India told the cricket governing body it would not send its team to Pakistan because of security fears and political tensions.

Under the agreement, Pakistan will also play in upcoming ICC tournaments hosted by India in other countries, yet to be decided.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier refused to play the Champions trophy on a so-called hybrid model but backed down after settling on neutral venues for both sides. The agreement will extend to 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, the statement added. 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 schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be announced soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017. The eight-team event also features Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Sources told Geo News that the fusion formula would apply to the knock-out matches as well.

The breakthrough comes after a weeks-long deadlock between Pakistan and India as the latter decided not to allow its team to cross the border for the mega event, which Islamabad slammed as politicisation of sports. For more than 10 years, India’s government has prohibited the national cricket team from travelling to Pakistan for bilateral events due to the political tensions between the neighbours.

Pakistan was also forced to host last year’s Asia Cup on a hybrid model with India’s matches and the final hosted in Sri Lanka. Pakistan did, however, play in India during the 2023 ICC World Cup hosted there.

The arch-rivals only meet in ICC multi-national events like ODI and T20 World Cups, with the last bilateral series held when Pakistan toured India in 2012-13. India last toured Pakistan to feature in the 2008 Asia Cup and have not played a bilateral series across the border for 18 years.

In the last few years, Pakistan has hosted the world’s top teams after improving security, emerging from cricketing isolation that began after a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009 in Lahore.

On the other hand, Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031, it added.