As the dates for the Champions Trophy 2025 draw closer, teams are starting to prepare for the main ICC tournament. And no. ODIs will be played by the teams in the coming days to prepare for the big tournament.
Team India will also play a practice match before the tournament opener against Bangladesh on February 19. The warm-up match will give the team valuable experience before the tournament and will therefore be important for them.
Also read: Sunil Gavaskar hits Rohit Sharma from close range as Jasprit Bumrah gets the heir apparent
India will play a practice match
According to Sports Tak, India’s practice match will be held in Dubai just a few days before their opening clash against Bangladesh. The date and opponent of the match are yet to be determined, but will be accurate in a few days.
🚨 TRAINING MATCH FOR TEAM INDIA 🚨
– The men in blue will probably play at least 1 training match in Dubai before the Champions Trophy. [Sports Tak] pic.twitter.com/dQtStDawQP
— John’s. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 9, 2025
“Test matches are yet to be announced and training facilities are being worked out. But India will get at least one practice match before the start of their competition. The squad is yet to be finalised,” the source was quoted as saying. from Sports Tak.
It is likely to be an important game for the men in blue given the lack of ODI cricket in the tournament. They played their last ODI in August 2024 against Sri Lanka. They lost the three-match ODI series 0-2 against the host nation.
India Schedule for Champions Trophy 2025
After the practice match, India will start their tournament with a match against Bangladesh. The men in blue will next face Pakistan in a high-voltage match on February 23. They will play their last league game against New Zealand on March 2.
They will play all their matches in Dubai after their government refused to send their team to Pakistan due to security concerns. Dubai was chosen as an alternative venue for the matches in which India participated. If the Men in Blue make it through the knockout stage, they will play in Dubai.
India are in Group A with Bangladesh and New Zealand and hosts Pakistan. Group B includes the other teams of the tournament – Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa. The two first-placed teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
India’s ODI series against England
India will also play a three-match ODI series against England just days before the Champions Trophy. The series is seen as preparation for the tournament. And no. high profile names can be expected to play in this series.
The three ODIs will be played in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad on February 6, 9 and 12 respectively. It is believed that both the teams will aim to fine-tune their preparations and field a full-strength ODI squad at some point during this series.
