India to play 2025 Champions Trophy matches at neutral venue

ESPNcricinfo has seen a resolution with details of the agreement, which went through an ICC board vote. In the agreement, during the 2024-2027 event cycle, all matches involving India in an event hosted in Pakistan will be played at a neutral venue, and in return all matches involving Pakistan in an event hosted by India will be played at a neutral venue. In both instances, all matches are taken to include knockout games such as the semis and the final.

The agreement begins with the 2025 men’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan, and will apply to the 2025 women’s ODI World Cup in India, and the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup which is co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The last event offers an easy solution with Sri Lanka as co-host but it would mean that any game India and Pakistan are drawn to play – a group game or a knockout – will take place in Sri Lanka. It could also apply to the 2028 women’s T20 World Cup, the first tournament of the next events cycle and which has now been awarded to Pakistan.

The choice of neutral venue will be made by the tournament host and will need to be approved by the ICC. In the case of the Champions Trophy, the PCB has to propose a neutral venue within 24 hours of the resolution being passed. The UAE has been the frontrunner, though Sri Lanka has also been mentioned. The PCB will retain full hosting rights for the event.

The resolution also refers to the possibility of a triangular or quadrangular T20I tournament, involving India, Pakistan and another Full Member from Asia (and an Associate Asian nation if it is a quadrangular). This is thought to have been one of the points pushed for by the PCB in its negotiations during the impasse, although the ICC has only said that it will not object to such an event being staged and that similar neutral venue arrangements will apply as those in the ICC event model. The resolution also says that no ICC director will make a public announcement on the tri-series, which will be a matter solely between the BCCI and PCB.

That sparked off a period of intense negotiations between the PCB, BCCI and the ICC, and was complicated by the poor political relations between the two countries. The governments of both countries were involved in final approvals on the agreement but were also present through the process; Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chair, is the interior minister in Pakistan’s government. Jay Shah, who was the BCCI secretary until December 1 when he took over as ICC chairman, is the son of India’s home minister, Amit Shah. The PCB had begun by insisting they would not adopt a hybrid model for the event but subsequently began to push for any solution to be more equitable and just in the longer term. In that sense, they will be happy to have secured an agreement on not playing matches in India in the next two ICC events in the country.