ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Match Officials Announced; Shockingly No Indian Included

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the match officials for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place on February 19. The opening game will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi between Pakistan and New Zealand.

Dubai International Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host all of India's games. The decision came after the BCCI wrote to the PCB to inform them their decision of not to travel to the neighboring country for the event.

The governing body has confirmed the match officials for the upcoming Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. National Stadium, the Rawalpindi Stadium, and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium are the three venues of Pakistan.

Experienced Officials Named in Champions Trophy 2025

A distinguished panel of 12 umpires will officiate the eight-team tournament, with six of them returning officials from the 2017 editions. These include Richard Kettleborough, who stood in the final of the previous season of the competition between India and Pakistan at the Kennington Oval in South London.

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Kettleborough is a veteran of 108 Men’s ODIs and will be joined by fellow umpires Chris Gaffaney, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth, Paul Reiffel, and Rod Tucker. All of them officiated the 2017 season of the tournament.

Dharmasena will be extending his stint of taking change in 132 ODIs at the upcoming 50-over tournament, a record for an umpire from Sri Lanka in the one-day format.

Kettleborough and Illingworth stood together during the ICC Men’s Cricket ODI World Cup 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. They will join Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Ahsan Razan, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Alex Wharf, and Joel Wilson. All of them officiated at the World Cup in India.

Experienced David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, and Andrew Pycroft will lead the panel of match referees. All of these members are part of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. The Australian officiated the 2017 final, while Madugalle returned after taking charge of the 2013 final.

“We are pleased to announce this highly credentialed team of match officials for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. Their collective expertise and experience will be invaluable in ensuring the tournament runs smoothly.” Sean Easey, the ICC senior Manager for the Umpires and Referees, commented before the Champions Trophy.

“We always strive to appoint the most deserving officials for such prestigious events, and we are confident that this group will do an outstanding job in both Pakistan and the UAE. We wish them all the best for a memorable tournament.” He reckoned.

No Indian in the match officials for the Champions Trophy

The Champions Trophy will see no Indian match officials, with two of the likeliest candidates having excused themselves from traveling to Pakistan.

ESPNcricinfo reports that Javagal Srinath, one of the most prolific ICC match referees, and Nitin Menon, part of the ICC’s elite panel umpires, mutually agreed with the governing body to deny the travel.

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Since all the matches in Dubai will feature India and require neutral officials, it automatically rules out the Indian match officials. The former Indian fast bowler, Srinath, is currently officiating the bilateral white-ball games against England at home, but neutral officials have been the norm at all ICC events.

Match officials for Champions Trophy 2025

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson

Match Referees: David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft