ICC Champions Trophy: Tickets for the highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai were sold out within minutes of going on sale on Monday, news agency IANS reported. The demand was so high that over 1,50,000 fans queued online, leading to wait times of over an hour, the report said.
The highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash is set for February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in a match that could be pivotal to both teams’ chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament. The group-stage match is part of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will follow a hybrid model across Pakistan and the UAE.
‘Mission To Win Champions Trophy’
Downplaying the clash between India and Pakistan, India team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir said he believes that the clash in Dubai is just one step in India’s journey toward winning a third Champions Trophy title, following their triumphs in 2002 and 2013.
“Look, we do not go to the Champions Trophy thinking that the 23rd is the most important game for us. I think five games, all the games are important,” Gambhir told Star Sports at the annual Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awards night in Mumbai on Saturday as quoted by ICC.
“The mission to go to Dubai is to win the Champions Trophy, not only win one particular game. But yes, if that is one game in the middle of winning the Champions Trophy, we are going to try and take it as seriously as possible.”
ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 India Squad
The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 will be a thrilling 19-day event, featuring the world’s top eight teams competing in 15 high-stakes matches over 19 days.
Team India, led by Rohit Sharma, will kick off their ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20. Their group stage fixtures also include a high-voltage clash against Pakistan on February 23, and New Zealand on March 2. The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy will begin on February 19, with the final set for March 9.
Group A consists of current Champions Trophy holders and hosts Pakistan, along with India, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, while Group B features Cricket World Cup 2023 champions Australia, alongside Afghanistan, England, and South Africa.
India Squad for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
