As the dates for Champions Trophy 2025 draw nearer, teams are starting to prepare for the landmark ICC tournament. A no. of 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's opening game against Bangladesh on February 19. The warm-up game will give the team valuable experience before the tournament and will therefore be important for them.
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India to play a practice match
According to Sports Tak, India's practice match will be held in Dubai just days before the opening clash with Bangladesh. The match date and opponent are yet to be decided but will be finalized in a few days.
🚨 PRACTICE MATCH FOR TEAM INDIA 🚨
– The Men in Blue are likely to play at least one practice match in Dubai ahead of the Champions Trophy. (Sports Tak) pic.twitter.com/dQtStDawQP
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 9, 2025
“The practice matches are yet to be announced and the practice facilities are being prepared. But at least one match will be given to India for practice before the start of their competition. The squad is yet to be finalised,” a source was quoted as saying. by Sports Tak.
It is likely to be an important match for the Men in Blue given their lack of ODI cricket going into the tournament. They last played an ODI in August 2024 against Sri Lanka. They lost the three-match ODI series 0-2 to the host nation.
India's schedule for Champions Trophy 2025
After the practice match, India will start their tour with a match against Bangladesh. The Men in Blue will then take on Pakistan in a high-voltage game on February 23. Their last league match will be 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 reasons. Dubai was chosen as an alternative venue to host the matches involving India. If the Men in Blue manage to make it to the knockout stages, they will continue to play in Dubai.
India are in Group A alongside Bangladesh and New Zealand and host Pakistan. Group B includes the other teams in the tournament – Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
India vs England ODI Series
India will also play a three-match ODI series against England just days before the Champions Trophy. The series is seen as a warm-up for the tournament. A no. high-profile names are expected to star in this series.
The three ODIs will be played in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad on February 6, 9 and 12. It is believed that both teams will aim to fine-tune their preparations and field a full ODI squad at some point during this period. series.