The board stated that the reason for this change in venues was because of their confidence in the readiness of these upgraded venues, and shared a release in order to announce the updated venue for the tri-nation ODI series.

“Given the advanced stage of preparations at the Gaddafi Stadium and the National Bank Stadium, the PCB has decided to relocate the upcoming tri-nation ODI series to these two venues. The series, featuring New Zealand and South Africa alongside Pakistan, was originally scheduled to be held in Multan,” said PCB in release. 

Both the stadiums are currently under renovations for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. PCB will be the host of the marquee event, which is set to take pace with all the matches to be played in Pakistan, along with the exception of India’s matches, which will be held in Dubai.

The venues for the semi-final and final of the Champions Trophy will either be within Pakistan, or it will change to Dubai. If India qualifies for the semi-final and final, the matches will be held in Dubai, otherwise Lahore will host the clashes.

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After this deal, Dubai got got finalised as hybrid model venue from ICC Champions Trophy 2025. This event will begin February 19, as Pakistan will host New Zealand in Karachi. The highly-hyped match between India and Pakistan will be held on February 23 at Dubai International Stadium. The semifinals and the finals of the tournament are scheduled on March 4,5, and 9 respectively.

How to book tickets for Champions Trophy:
The sales of ticket for the event have not yet begun, but the ICC has opened registrations for updates on Champions Trophy ticket sales. Fans are to click on this link to register. After clicking on the link, people are to enter their name, email address, contact number, date of birth, country of residence, and favourite team.

After all the details get completed, the people need to agree on terms and conditions. After the procedure is complete, fans will get registered for the updates on when the ticket sales go live.

The schedule is however, already delayed. Since the tournament is less than two months away, it will not be long for the ticket sales to go live. Fans will only be able to book tickets for the league matches, and for the finals, they will have to wait for India’s result in tournament.

In case if India qualifies for the final, it will be played in Dubai or else at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

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Following the announcement, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed his pride and optimism over Pakistan’s role as a host. This is a massive moment for Pakistan, who last hosted a major international tournament back in 1996.

“We are pleased that an agreement has been reached based on the principles of equality and respect, showcasing the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that defines our sport,” Naqvi said.

“Hosting the Champions Trophy is a significant milestone for Pakistan, highlighting our commitment to promoting cricket at the highest level and showcasing our capabilities as a premier event organizer. Pakistan is elated to welcome the world to the Champions Trophy, and we look forward to extending our renowned hospitality to all,” Naqvi added.

The Champions Trophy 2025, featuring eight teams, will begin on February 19 with the opening match between hosts Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi. The event will culminate with the final on March 9, set to be held in Lahore unless India qualifies, in which case it will shift to Dubai.

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Gillespie also wasn’t quite happy with the coaches not having a say in selection matters, a decision which also saw former white-ball coach Gary Kirsten step down.

With Pakistan set to take on South Africa for the Boxing Day Test which is set to commence from December 26, PCB chief Naqvi has shared his views on Gillespie’s sudden departure.

“The head coach’s role is to coach the team, while the selection committee is supposed to select players,” Naqvi told Geo News.

Both Gillespie and Kirsten were appointed on 2-year contracts before the T20 World Cup. However, once Aaqib Javed was brought in as the senior selector and was provided with all the powers including team selection, the coaches’ relationships with the PCB turned sour. Javed was then also appointed as the Men in Green’s interim coach across all the formats.

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Earlier, BCCI had informed the ICC that they won’t let Team India travel to Pakistan in order to participate in the tournament. In reply to this, the PCB stood firm on their stance of hosting all the matches of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan only.

However, the BCCI received ICC’s backing and on Thursday, the global body confirmed that the 2025 Champions Trophy will be played under the hybrid model, with India set to play all their matches at a neutral venue, including if the team reaches the semifinals and final.

“UAE was finalized as the venue after PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the Emirates Cricket Board chairman Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan,” PCB spokesman Amir Mir said in a statement on Sunday.

PCB however, did not confirm exactly where India’s matches will be held in UAE with Dubai is considered as the likeliest venue.

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, India will play against Pakistan on February 23, a Sunday. The other teams in India’s group are Bangladesh and New Zealand. The Men in Blue will take on Bangladesh in their opener on February 20 and face the Kiwis on March 2. 

The second group will comprise Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa. All matches, barring that of India, will be played across 3 cities in Pakistan namely – Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.

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In return, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) asked for a similar method or the upcoming events that will be held in India. This request has also been accepted by the Council and Pakistan will hence not be travelling to India for any ICC event.

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes that the PCB will not lose anything in this model, even after seeing a few matches taking place outside their country.

“Pakistan is not losing money. In fact, in this arrangement, Pakistan hasn’t even lost its face. No matter how much they might have talked against the Hybrid Model, they had ultimately agreed, but they have also not walked away empty-handed,” Akash Chopra said on hi YouTube channel.

“It’s now almost confirmed that it will be tit for tat. All matches till 2027 will be in the Hybrid Model. If India are not going to Pakistan, Pakistan will also not come to India and play against India. Pakistan will play their matches in a third country,” Aakash added.

“There is no money lost because they will get an extra $4.50 million as they will have to spend a little more while hosting it in a third country. They were being given Rs 600 crore and will now get $4.50 million more. Of course, there will be a slight tourism loss because a lot of people used to travel for India-Pakistan engagements,” Chopra further added.

“It could be a financial loss because of that but there is no direct loss because the gate-receipt money doesn’t go to the home nation in ICC events in any case. It’s also been decided that Pakistan will not come to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup, where Sri Lanka is the co-host,” he concluded.

This financial situation is because of the fact that ICC had reportedly agreed to give Pakistan a decent share of money compared to what the board was earlier supposed to get.

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Arun has said that this decision taken by the council will be of a major help to the stakeholders and broadcasters of both the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“It is good that we got some clarity on the Champions Trophy, and also the future ICC tournaments. That will be helpful for all the stakeholders, cricket boards, and the broadcasters,” Arun Dhumal told IANS.

This decision will apply from the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 that is going to be hosted by PCB next year in February-March, along with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 that will be hosted by India, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 that will be jointly hosted buy India and Sri Lanka.

The ICC have also announced that the PCB got the hosting rights for ICC Women’s Y20 World Cup, that will take place in 2028, where the arrangements of neutral venue will also apply.

The final decision of ICC on the matches between India and Pakistan matches will also be the deciding factor to end all the rumours regarding Champions Trophy’s future.

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“ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 to be played across Pakistan and a neutral venue,” ICC said in a statement. This means that the tournament will be played in hybrid mode with India playing their share of matches at a neutral venue.

Not only this, the global body which is led by Jay Shah has come up with another major decision and have declared that all the matches between India and Pakistan, hosted by the 2 countries, will be played at neutral venues till 2027.

“India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December,” the statement said.

“This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka),” the statement added.

This statement means that for the first time, the Indian team will have to travel to another country to play a match against Pakistan in an ICC event, despite being the host or co-host.

The ICC has also awarded hosting rights of the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup to Pakistan.

“It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031,” the ICC said.

“The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017. The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan,” the ICC added.

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According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, India is confirmed to play their matches at a neutral venue and the tournament is set to be held in hybrid mode.

 In return, Pakistan’s matches against the Men in Blue in ICC events hosted by India will also take place at a neutral venue. According to the report,  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 until the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup which will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

It could also apply to the 2028 women’s T20 World Cup, the first tournament of the next event cycle and which has now been awarded to Pakistan. The neutral venue will reportedly be proposed by the tournament host’s board and will need to be approved by ICC.

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Jason took the duty of Pakistan’s red-ball coach in April with a two-year deal, and led the team to a 2-1 series victory at home over England in October. Gillespie however resigned from his role last week before Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa. Aaqib Javed has been name the interim Test coach of Pakistan till then.

“I felt I was basically hitting catches, and that was about it on the morning of a game. You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, with selectors, for instance, knowing what the team is as head coach well before the game, or at least the day before the game,” Jason said on ABC Grandstand show.

He also said that the PCB and he were not able to clearly communicate, with the high-performance coach Tim Neilsen got sacked, and him not having a word in the selection committee, he ultimately stepped down from his rols.

“I went into the job eyes wide open, I want to make that really clear. I knew that Pakistan had cycled through a number of coaches in a pretty short space of time, but I put my case forward and explained how I felt I could help,” Gillespie said.

“You want to create an environment where players are relaxed but focused and get out and do the job and give them the freedom to go out and play the game. I felt that in the red ball, in the Test side, we were very much on track doing that, which culminated in that series win against England,” he added.

“So a lot of good stuff happened from when I took the job on to where things have finished up (now), I didn’t get on the plane on Friday. The straw that broke the camel’s back, I suppose, was, as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer. I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have a high-performance coach,” he further added.

“Tim Nielsen was told that his services were no longer required and I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that, and I just thought after a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months, that was probably the moment where I thought, ‘Well, I’m not really sure if they actually really want me to do this job or not’,” he recalled.

Jason also spoke about how he had such a great relationship with skipper Shan Masood and that the feedback regarding the work of Nielsen has been positive.

“I developed a really close relationship with the test captain, Shan Masood, and felt we were certainly going in the right direction and things were going really well. All the feedback that I’d got or the feedback the PCB got was just how effective Tim had been in his role as well and the players were getting a lot out of him. They called him grandpa and there was some good banter between the boys,” he said.

“Shan and I spoke a lot about that and the players about whether you play one Test match or 100, it’s irrelevant. If you’ve got something of value to contribute to the team you can do that in a safe space and we felt we were making so many gains in that space,” he concluded.

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