Dubai. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that the 2025 Men's Champions Trophy tour will begin from Islamabad on Saturday. The trophy will also be displayed at famous sites in the city such as DamaneKoh, Faisal Mosque and Pakistan Memorial, where legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will also be present.
The Trophy Tour is a promotional event before every major ICC event, but it got embroiled in a major controversy after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced that venues like Skardu, Murree, Hunza and Muzaffarabad – three of which Coming to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) – Trophy tours will be on the list.
Only Muri has been included in the trophy tour schedule announced by the ICC after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) raised strong objections on Friday, while Taxila, Khanpur, Abbottabad, Nathia Gali and Mumbai have been included in the list to travel to Pakistan edition till November 25. Places like Karachi have been placed in the list.
ICC Chief Commercial Officer Anurag Dahiya said, “The winning trophy, which will be displayed across all participating nations, will provide passionate fans of the game an unforgettable experience of being up close to the iconic trophy.”
The trophy will tour Afghanistan from November 2628, then Bangladesh from December 1013 and South Africa from December 1522. After this, it will remain in Australia from 25 December to 5 January and then go to New Zealand from 611 January. After touring England from January 1214, the trophy will make its appearance in India from January 1526, before returning to Pakistan on January 27.
The men's Champions Trophy was last held in England in 2017 and was won by Pakistan. But the formal schedule of the eightteam tournament is hanging in the balance as the BCCI has refused to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns, but the PCB is yet to agree to host it under the hybrid model.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.