ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Warm-up schedule announced
The warm-up fixtures for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, scheduled to be held in England and Wales, have been announced. A total of six matches will be played from 26th May to 30th May, and will end two days before the start of the first match.
The warm-up fixtures start with a face-off with Australia and Sri Lanka, set to be held at 1500 hours (IST). India will play their first practice game against New Zealand at The Oval, which will be telecast live on TV, and will follow it with another game against Bangladesh on 30th May at the same venue.
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The tournament, scheduled to take place from June 1st to June 18th, will see eight teams competing in a round-robin format, divided into two groups of four teams each. Bangladesh return to the tournament for the first time since 2006, replacing West Indies to become the last of the eight teams to qualify for the tournament.
Earlier, South Africa announced their squad for the tournament, including Morne Morkel and the Keshav Maharaj in the team. Dale Steyn was a notable omission.
The Indian team, part of Group B, is in the same lot as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa. India play their opening game against arch-rivals Pakistan on the 4th of June at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Most of the Team India players, who are expected to make the squad for the tournament, are currently playing in the IPL, except for KL Rahul and Ravichandran Ashwin, both of whom have been ruled out of the entire edition due to injury.
Here’s the full list of Champions Trophy practice fixtures:
| Date | Time (IST) | Fixture | Venue |
| May 26 | 1500 hours | AUSTRALIA v SRI LANKA | The Oval, London |
| May 27 | 1500 hours | BANGLADESH v PAKISTAN | Edgbaston, Birmingham |
| May 28 | 1500 hours | INDIA v NEW ZEALAND | The Oval, London |
| May 29 | 1500 hours | AUSTRALIA v PAKISTAN | Edgbaston, Birmingham |
| May 30 | 1500 hours | NEW ZEALAND v SRI LANKA | Edgbaston, Birmingham |
| May 30 | 1500 hours | INDIA v BANGLADESH | The Oval, London |