PCB proposes three cities for 2025 Champions Trophy: report

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi as venues for the 2025 Champions Trophy in its initial schedule submitted to the ICC as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

Pakistan is defending its 2017 Champions Trophy title and was granted hosting rights for the 2025 edition when the tournament was revived in the ICC's 2023-27 cycle.

The eight-team tournament is expected to span two weeks, though precise dates have not yet been finalized. The PCB determined the venues and schedule following a security review by an ICC team.

"We've sent the schedule for the matches in Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy. The ICC's security team came and we had a very good meeting. They looked at arrangements here and we'll also share stadium upgrade plans with them. We're continuously in touch with the ICC. We are trying to ensure we host a very good tournament in Pakistan," Naqvi said in a presser.

One major discussion point will be the participation of the Indian team. Sources reveal that the draft schedule includes all games, including India's, in Pakistan.

India's involvement in the Champions Trophy depends on the political climate and whether the Indian government grants permission to the BCCI to travel to Pakistan. Last year, Pakistan adopted a hybrid model for the 2023 Asia Cup, hosting some games domestically while holding India's matches and the final in Sri Lanka.

It is worth noting that the last ICC event hosted by Pakistan was the 1996 ODI World Cup, co-hosted with India and Sri Lanka. Security concerns disrupted cricket tours to Pakistan during the early 2000s and from 2009 to 2015. In 2008, Pakistan was set to host the Champions Trophy, but it was moved to South Africa due to security issues.