ICC Champions Trophy 2025: When will all 8 teams arrive in Pakistan? When is India departing for Dubai? Tentative dates

The buzz around the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is growing with every passing day as the mega event draws near. Hosting an ICC event for the first time in 30 years, Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy 2025 in three venues – Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi – starting from February 19. However, India will play all their games in Dubai including the knockouts, provided they qualify, after BCCI’s denial in sending the Men in Blue to the neighbouring country due to security reasons.

Apart from England, none of the participating teams have announced their final 15-member squads, including hosts Pakistan. However, there is a growing curiosity about when the teams will arrive in Pakistan.

According to a report in Tribune.com, New Zealand and South Africa will be the first teams to arrive in Pakistan in early February as they play a tri-series against Pakistan in Karachi and Lahore.

Like in all ICC events, all the participating teams in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be playing practice matches, scheduled between February 12 to 18 in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.

The report also added that Australia and England will be arriving after February 10 while Afghanistan are scheduled to land in Karachi mid-February. As far as Bangladesh cricketers are concerned, they are playing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) currently and will only travel after February 7, after the commencement of BPL 2025.

When will India travel to Dubai?

Unlike other teams, the Indian team will play all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai including the semifinal and final, provided they qualify. India will play a white-ball T20I series (5 T20Is & 3 ODIs) against England, which starts on January 22. The ODI series against England starts on February 6 and will end on February 12, which means the Men in Blue will reach Dubai with four-five days prior to the tournament. India play their first game on February 20.

With Bangladesh playing India in their first game, they will travel to Dubai first, before flying to Rawalpindi where they play their final two Group A games.