All About The 8 Teams Participating In The ICC Champions Trophy 2025

After finishing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Men in Blue clinched their 2nd ICC T20 World Cup trophy after a long wait of 17 years by defeating South Africa in the finals at Bridgetown Stadium in Barbados. All eyes of Cricket enthusiasts are on the upcoming ICC event i.e. ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to take place in Pakistan from February 19th to March 9, 2023. This will mark the return of the ICC events in Pakistan after the 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup. It will be the first time that Pakistan will be hosting an ICC Tournament and for the past three months, several ICC delegations have visited Pakistan and expressed their satisfaction.

However, it will also mark the tournament's return to the international cricket calendar after it was scrapped following the 2017 edition. Pakistan won that competition with a 180-run victory over India at The Oval in London, England. Through this news piece, we will look at how many teams are participating in this upcoming event.

In the ICC Champions trophy, a total of 8 teams will be taking part from last year’s ODI World Cup. The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. As for the groups, hosts of Pakistan will be in Group A along with India, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, while Group B includes England, South Africa, Australia, and Afghanistan.

Champions Trophy 2025 

Groups Group A: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh 

Group B: England, South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan 

Talking about the schedule of the ICC Trophy is not yet confirmed. But according to the leaked provisional schedule, India will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Lahore, after host Pakistan opens the tournament against New Zealand in Karachi on February 19.

India will play all their group matches in Lahore. The Men in Blue will take on New Zealand on February 23 before the much-anticipated clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 1. While the round-robin phase ends on March 2, the two semi-finals will be held in Karachi and Rawalpindi on March 5 and 6 respectively, with the final scheduled for Lahore on March 9.

Champions Trophy 2025 Venues

Lahore: Gaddafi Stadium Karachi:

National Stadium Rawalpindi: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

Rawalpindi: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

However, as per the news, India's semifinal will be played in Lahore if they reach the last four. However, there is still no clarity on whether India will travel to their neighbouring country after opting not to last year for Asia Cup 2023.

All the other member countries have confirmed their support for the Champions Trophy to the ICC, while BCCI, is yet to make a decision after consulting with the Indian government. As we wait for India's confirmation, here is a look at the provisional schedule:

Group Stage Matches

• February 19: New Zealand vs. Pakistan (Karachi)
• February 20: Bangladesh vs. India (Lahore)
• February 21: Afghanistan vs. South Africa (Karachi)
• February 22: Australia vs. England (Lahore)
• February 23: New Zealand vs. India (Lahore)
• February 24: Pakistan vs. Bangladesh (Rawalpindi)
• February 25: Afghanistan vs. England (Lahore)
• February 26: Australia vs. South Africa (Rawalpindi)
• February 27: Bangladesh vs. New Zealand (Lahore)
• February 28: Afghanistan vs. Australia (Rawalpindi)
• March 1: Pakistan vs. India (Lahore)
• March 2: South Africa vs. England (Rawalpindi)

Knockout Stage

• March 5: Semi-final 1 (Karachi)
• March 6: Semi-final 2 (Rawalpindi)
• March 9: Final (Lahore)