GHOTKI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been decided as the neutral venue for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, slated to be hosted by Pakistan in the February-March window.
The development came after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi met chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan at his residence here on Saturday night.
In the meeting, the two cricket boards reached the consensus to lock in the UAE as the neutral venue for the eight-team tournament.
Earlier that day, during his visit to National Stadium, Karachi to review the progress of the ongoing construction work ahead of the mega event, Naqvi had said that the decision regarding the neutral venue of the tournament will be made by Sunday.
"A decision on what constitutes a neutral venue will be made tomorrow,” Naqvi had said.
It is pertinent to mention that the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 will be played across hosts Pakistan and neutral venue, confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday.
This decision is part of a broader arrangement where matches between India and Pakistan at ICC events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at neutral locations, ensuring logistical and security feasibility.
The ‘fusion formula’ will apply to major ICC tournaments after Champions Trophy, including the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (to be hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka).
Under this formula, the knockout stage matches, including the final, will be played at neutral venue if India and Pakistan qualify.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.