BCCI Official To Visit Pakistan Before Champions Trophy 2025 Final

The vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will travel to Pakistan to witness the second semifinal of the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025. New Zealand will face South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and the winner will straightaway go to the final.

In the first semifinal, India will meet Australia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The former will look to take their revenge on the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Rajeev Shukla to visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal

The reports of the Sports Tak have revealed that Rajeev Shulka will leave for Pakistan on March 04 and will attend the second semifinal of the eight-team event at the Gaddafi Stadium. After spending two days in the neighboring nation, he will return to India on March 06.

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Despite being the official hosts of the tournament, Pakistan traveled to Dubai for the mouth-watering clash against the Blue Brigade on February 23. The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, was not prepared to accept the hybrid model of the tournament at any cost.

But the BCCI wrote to the PCB and the ICC to inform their decision of nit traveling to the other side of the border due to the political relationships. The last bilateral series between the two countries took place in 2012 when the Green Brigade made the trip to India. They also did the same during the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup, but the last visit for India in Pakistan happened in the 2008 Asia Cup.

ICC reveals finalists if South Africa vs New Zealand ends in a washout

While announcing the schedule of the Champions Trophy, the International Cricket Council mentioned that there will be a reserve day for the two semifinals and the final of the mega event. If the semifinal washes out on March 05, it will take place on the very next day. Another washout on the day will see the team with more points qualify for the final.

South Africa started their campaign with a thumping win over Afghanistan before their second encounter against Australia ended in a washout. They again displayed a better all-round performance against England in the last group-stage affair and still made a trip to Dubai because of the uncertainty on their semifinal opponent.

New Zealand, on the other hand, is in a superb form with the tri-series win in Pakistan. They beat the same side in the opening game at the National Stadium in Karachi, before continuing the same performance against Bangladesh. The only defeat for them in the event was against India in Dubai. They move back to Pakistan for the semifinal clash on March 05.

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Both these sides will meet each other in a 50-over knockout clash for the very first time since the 2015 ODI World Cup semifinal at the Eden Park in Auckland.

Australia wins the toss and opts to bat in the first semifinal

Australia’s captain, Steve Smith, wins the toss in the first semifinal and decides to bat first on a surface that he expected to get slow in the evening. They bring Tanveer Sangha and Cooper Connolly into the playing eleven to strengthen their spin bowling unit.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma did not confirm his choice after winning the toss but reckoned that they are retaining their same playing eleven and are going with four spinners against the current ODI World Champions.