It is now confirmed that the 2025 Champions Trophy will take place, and Team India will play all their matches in Dubai. If the Indian team makes it to the semifinals and final, those matches will also be held in Dubai. However, the host nation will still be Pakistan. This issue had been delayed for a while due to the BCCI’s reluctance to send the Indian team to Pakistan, but it has now been resolved.
Talking about the Champions Trophy, it could be a challenging tournament for India. Winning this ICC event will not be easy for the Indian team.
The Return of the Champions Trophy After 2017
The last Champions Trophy was organized by the BCCI in 2017, after which it was discontinued. However, in 2021, the ICC decided to revive the tournament. The Champions Trophy matches are played in the One-Day format, meaning full 50-over games. The problem for India is that they won’t play many One-Day matches before the Champions Trophy.
There’s a significant difference between One-Day and T20 formats. While a T20 match is completed in the time it takes for a One-Day innings to unfold, proper preparation for One-Day matches requires more time. No matter how much practice the players do in the nets, it’s only through real matches on the field that they can truly prepare.
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India Will Only Play Three ODIs Before the Champions Trophy
After the Test series against Australia, Team India’s next series will be against England. First, they will play five T20 matches, followed by three One-Day matches. The Champions Trophy will begin immediately after that. This means the Indian team will only have three matches to finalize their preparations, which might not be enough for a major ICC tournament. It’s unclear why the BCCI has planned so few One-Day matches, and this could prove detrimental for the Indian team.
Dubai Not a Lucky Venue for India
Additionally, Team India will play their matches in Dubai. While the team has played many matches there before, they haven’t visited Dubai in a while, so there’s no clear idea of how the conditions and pitches will be. Dubai hasn’t been particularly lucky for the Indian cricket team in recent times. On the other hand, for Pakistan, both Dubai and Pakistan will feel like home, which might give them an advantage. It will be interesting to see how Team India deals with all these challenges and performs in the Champions Trophy, making its return after such a long time.