Pakistan At Risk Of Losing Hosting Rights For Champions Trophy 2025 Final

Pakistan will keep its eyes on the first semifinal of the Champions Trophy 2025 despite making an early exit in the tournament. India and Australia will meet each other in the fixture at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 04 as it will be a repeat of the blockbuster clash from the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

But despite the side’s absence, Pakistan will be keen on Australia beating India in the contest for a different reason. The result will decide the venue of the final for the eight-team tournament.

Pakistan could lose hosting rights for Champions Trophy 2025

The mega event is the first ICC tournament that Pakistan has been hosting in 29 years since the 1996 ODI World Cup, but they might not get the chance to host the final, which is scheduled to take place on March 09.

Also Read: Watch: Virat Kohli Touches Axar Patel’s Feet In Champions Trophy 2025

Due to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s decision to avoid traveling to the neighboring country, they got a chance to play the entire tournament in Dubai. The same will follow in the final if the Rohit Sharma-led side qualifies for the all-important clash.

The hybrid model allowed the teams to fly to Dubai and face the Indian side for the competition. It means that the ICC needed to keep Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium as the designated venue for the marquee clash, and the PCB will hope for a favor from Australia by beating India to stage the final of the tournament.

However, the win for the blue brigade will change the entire scenario as the Dubai International Cricket Stadium will then host the final of the event. The winner of the New Zealand and South Africa side will have to fly to Dubai for the all-important final.

India continues its unbeaten run in the Champions Trophy 2025

Before the start of the ICC competition, India enjoyed great preparation at home with the clean sweep 3-0 series victory against England as their batters enjoyed the time in the middle, while the bowlers got the confidence back with the wickets under their belt. The management got a great chance to use Mohammad Shami after his long layoff from injury.

They started the campaign with a victory against Bangladesh when Shubman Gill's unbeaten 101-run knock carried them over the line in the 229-run chase. Against Pakistan, Virat Kohli roared with an undefeated century as they chased 242 runs with six wickets in hand and nearly seven overs to spare.

In the final group-stage clash against New Zealand, the Indian batters struggled against the spinners batting first. But Varun Chakravarthy enjoyed a five-wicket haul in just his second ODI clash to seal the deal for the blue brigade by 44 runs.

Pakistan makes early exit in home ICC event

In an unprecedented situation, the tickets for the final are yet to go on sale despite less than a week remaining for the big clash. The process will begin only after the end of the India-Australia semifinal encounter.

Also Read: Babar Azam Told To Stay Away From Pakistan Cricket After Champions Trophy 2025

Pakistan’s last hosted ICC event came during the final of the 1996 ODI World Cup in Lahore. They started the campaign with a huge defeat against the Blackcaps at the National Stadium in Karachi before continuing the poor performance against India in Dubai and failing to defend 241 runs.

The green brigade will now make a trip to New Zealand for the ODI and T20I series as the preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka will begin.