LAHORE – The opening ceremony of ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 will not take place due to delayed arrival of the two participating team, it emerged on Thursday.
Reports said there will be no press conference of the eight captains in Karachi and nor a pre-tournament photoshoot. Indian captain Rohit Sharma will also not attend the press conference in Karachi.
Reports said England team is set to arrive in Lahore on February 18 while Australia will arrive on February 19, as per the schedule provided by the cricket boards of the both countries.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh and India will reach Dubai on February 15, while Afghanistan will arrive in Islamabad on February 12. New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa will already be in Pakistan after playing a tri-nation ODI series in Lahore and Karachi from February 8 to 14.
The first match of the Champions Trophy between Pakistan and New Zealand will take place on February 19 in Karachi.
England have decided to take a one-week break after their month-long tour of India, which ends on February 12.
Meanwhile, Australia, which is part of a two-test and two-ODI series in Sri Lanka, will complete its tour in Colombo on February 14, after which they will rest for four days.
Earlier, both the ICC and PCB had shown interest in organizing the opening ceremony. However the arrival schedules of the England and Australia cricket teams, and other issues have made it impossible to hold an event.
