Champions Trophy 2025: Team India captain Rohit Sharma is likely to visit Pakistan ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, set to begin on February 19. While India will play their Champions Trophy matches at a neutral venue — Dubai, Rohit is reportedly likely to travel to Pakistan to attend the opening ceremony of the prestigious tournament, which is returning after an eight-year hiatus.
As per the IANS report, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning a grand opening ceremony, tentatively scheduled for February 16 or 17, depending on the warm-up match schedule. As per ICC event protocols, all team captains are expected to participate in the opening ceremony and so is the Men in Blue captain Rohit Sharma.
“Indian Team captain will visit Pakistan to attend the opening ceremony of the Champions Trophy as PCB plans grand event, marking the return of a mega international cricket event to Pakistan after 29 years,” IANS quoted its sources as saying.
ALSO ON ABP Live | Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Team India Stars Likely To Feature In Upcoming Ranji Matches Ft. Virat Kohli
India To Play All Matches In Dubai
The Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to begin on February 19, will see the tournament’s final being played on March 9. The prestigious event also marks Pakistan’s first major ICC event as hosts since co-hosting the 1996 Cricket World Cup alongside India and Sri Lanka.
While all of India’s group-stage games and the first semi-final will take place in Dubai, the tournament will follow a hybrid format, with Pakistan hosting the majority of matches. Notably, if India make it to the finals, the match will also be played in Dubai.
The Indian cricket team last traveled to Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka. Their most recent encounter with Pakistan on Pakistani soil occurred during the Super Four stage of the same tournament, where India faced an 8-wicket defeat. On the other hand, the arch-rivals’ last encounter was in the T20 World Cup 2024 where India defeated Pakistan by six runs in a group-stage fixture and later on went on to win the World Cup.
