Pakistan's schedule for 2025 Champions Trophy: Date, venues and timings in IST
After much delay owing to a deadlock between the BCCI and the PCB, the International Cricket Council (ICC) finally confirmed the schedule for the 2025 Champions Trophy on Tuesday, December 24. The one-day tournament will be played from February 19 to March 9. The event will be hosted across three venues in Pakistan, while India will play their games in Dubai in a hybrid model.
A total of eight teams will be featuring in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan have been placed in Group A along with Bangladesh and New Zealand. Group B features Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. The two semifinals will be played on March 4 and March 5, with the final on March 9.
Hosts Pakistan will kick off their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign with a match against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi on February 19. This will also be the opening match of the tournament. Their second group match will be against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23. Pakistan will then take on Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on February 27.
Pakistan's schedule for Champions Trophy 2025
Below is Pakistan's schedule for the 2025 Champions Trophy, with IST timings.
February 19: Match 1, Pakistan vs New Zealand, Group A, National Stadium, Karachi (2:30 PM IST)
February 23: Match 5, Pakistan vs India, Group A, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai (2:30 PM IST)
February 27: Match 9, Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Group A, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi (2:30 PM IST)
If Pakistan qualify for the semifinal, they will play their knockout match in Lahore on March 5 (second semifinal).
Pakistan are the defending champions in the ICC Champions Trophy. They won the previous edition of the tournament held in England in 2017. They began their campaign with a 124-run loss (DLS) to India in Edgbaston. Pakistan, however, recovered to register wins over South Africa (19 runs - DLS method) in Birmingham and Sri Lanka (3 wickets) in Cardiff.
In the first semifinal at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Pakistan hammered hosts England by eight wickets. They then crushed India in the final at The Oval by 180 runs. Batting first, Fakhar Zaman's 114 took them to 338-4. Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali then claimed three wickets each as India were bundled out for 158.