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The men's ICC Champions Trophy will be played across Pakistan and a neutral venue, announced the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday. The same rule will also be applicable to all the ICC events held by India and Pakistan during the 2024-27 rights cycle.
A statement from ICC on Thursday said, "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. 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), as per ICC. 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 schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017, beating India in the final. The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan. Due to strained political relations between the two nations, India has not toured Pakistan since 2008, when they participated in the Asia Cup. The two arch-rivals last played a bilateral series in 2012-13 in India, comprising white-ball matches. After that, India and Pakistan have primarily faced each other in ICC tournaments and Asia Cups. (ANI)
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