The Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan and the UAE (Photo by Muhammad Sameer Ali/Getty … [+]
The good news? The latest fracas between bickering foes India and Pakistan has finally ended after a resolution was resolved following months of warring almost jeopardized the upcoming Champions Trophy.
To recap, the biggest cricket event of 2025 – in a rare year where there is no men’s cricket World Cup – will now also be held in the rather sterile surrounds of the UAE after India refused to travel to Pakistan given the strict stance from its nationalistic government.
It has led to bizarre logistical issues. While it is now known that all of India’s matches will be played in the UAE, including the blockbuster against Pakistan on February 23, the knockout stages are unknown.
The first semi-final and the March 9 final, slated for Lahore, might be played in the UAE if India qualify that far. Right now, it’s to be confirmed which is rather an appalling set of circumstances for a sport that loudly boasts of being the second biggest in the world.
India and Pakistan is cricket’s biggest rivalry (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
It is unacceptable for everyone involved, especially for fans wanting to attend the knockout stages of the event. They don’t even know whether to book flights for the UAE or Pakistan. Fans, once again, get short-changed by cricket’s rudderless leadership and geo-politics.
Not knowing which country the event’s most important matches will be played underlines cricket being handcuffed to the whims of money-spinner India, whose power might be heightened by the ascension of former boss Jay Shah running the sport’s affairs globally.
The situation was always going to fester after it was announced in 2021 that Pakistan was going to host the Champions Trophy, an event that had been dormant since 2017 but revived due to cricket’s seemingly needing a major event every year to fill up the coffers.
Pakistan did manage some concessions and won’t be travelling to India – like they did for last year’s World Cup – but ultimately it’s all a mess and unparalleled with a sport shackled to one country and, indirectly, its government.
Perhaps insignificant in the scheme of things, but the event being staged in the UAE is underwhelming. The Emirates has stepped up time and again for cricket events and matches, once being the home when Pakistan were nomads. It has considerable infrastructure in place making it capable of hosting large scale events, while it also doubles as cricket’s headquarters.
Matches in the UAE has generally lacked atmosphere apart from when India-Pakistan meet (Photo by … [+]
But cricket games there are often played in front of empty stands with the lack of atmosphere jarring and it feels rather soulless matching its surroundings. There were other more appealing options. Sri Lanka, which co-hosted last year’s Asia Cup after a similar fracas between India and Pakistan, was a strong contender while it is learned that South Africa and Zimbabwe tried to sway Pakistan authorities.
As I reported recently, Zimbabwe is becoming an event destination for cricket and it would have been heart-warming, most certainly a livelier atmosphere, if it had played host.
But the reliable fall back option of UAE won out as learned months ago only for the situation to fester as India and Pakistan went back and forth. The Champions Trophy will go ahead, most importantly the clash between India and Pakistan which will guarantee a windfall much to the glee administrators, but the lack of clarity over its headline matches makes cricket look rather amateurish.
