Champions Trophy host Pakistan confirms UAE as neutral venue for India's games at cricket tournament

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistan Cricket Board has chosen the United Arab Emirates as a neutral venue to host India’s games at next year's Champions Trophy following a standoff between the two rivals.

India had refused to travel to tournament host Pakistan for the eight-team, 50-over Champions Trophy, amid its security concerns.

Under a hybrid model, the International Cricket Council confirmed on Thursday that all of India’s games will be at a neutral venue, including if the team reaches the semifinals and final.

“UAE was finalized as the venue after PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the Emirates Cricket Board chairman Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan," PCB spokesman Amir Mir said in a statement on Sunday.

Mir said the PCB has “informed the ICC” about the selection.

The PCB statement did not confirm where the games would take place in the UAE, with Dubai considered the likeliest venue.

Pakistan will not play in India in ICC events in the 2024-27 cycle. Pakistan will also go to a neutral venue when India hosts the 2025 Women’s World Cup and co-hosts the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka.

India has three group-stage games in the 2025 Champions Trophy, including one against Pakistan. Depending on India's progress at the tournament, the UAE will also host one of the semifinals and the final.

The latest statement paves the way for the ICC to announce the schedule of the February-March tournament in the coming days.

Political tensions between Pakistan and India have prevented their teams from touring each other’s country since 2012, when Pakistan went to India for a bilateral one-day international series.

Both teams face each other regularly in ICC tournaments — Pakistan went to India last year for the men’s World Cup. But before the World Cup, India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup and played all of its games in Sri Lanka.

Defending champion Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan are the participating teams in the 2025 edition.

The PCB has spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, and it hopes the work will be completed by mid-January. Pakistan is scheduled to host a minimum of 10 games at the three venues.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Pakistan's Saim Ayub raises his bat and hemet after reaching his century during the third International cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan, at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin one-on-one on Sunday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s RIA agency. According to Peskov, the talks would focus on “the international situation” and Russian natural gas deliveries.

Visits and phone calls from European leaders to Putin have been rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, although Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban visited Russia in July. Orban’s visit drew condemnation from Kyiv and European leaders.

Fico’s views on Russia’s war on Ukraine differ sharply from most European leaders. The Slovakian PM returned to power last year after his leftist party Smer (Direction) won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform. Since then, he has ended his country’s military aid for Ukraine, hit out at EU sanctions on Russia, and vowed to block Ukraine from joining NATO.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, pool, File)