Source: Pakistan to play India in Lahore on March 1 in ICC Champions Trophy

A source inside Pakistan cricket told Al Jazeera that despite the proposed date, India’s participation in the 2025 event is questionable.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed March 1 as the date for the marquee ICC Champions Trophy contest between Pakistan and India in Lahore in a revised schedule circulated to the International Cricket Council (ICC), boards of the seven other participating countries and the official broadcaster, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

Pakistan and India are joined by Bangladesh and New Zealand in Group A, and Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan form Group B. Each team will play the three teams in its group once, and the top two teams from each group will play in the semifinals.

The ICC Champions Trophy will be played in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, which will host three, seven and five matches, respectively.

The tournament will begin in Karachi on February 19 and conclude with the final in Lahore on March 9. The final will have a reserve day – March 10 – in case of bad weather.

Under the current schedule, Karachi and Rawalpindi will host a semifinal each. However, if India make it through to the last four, then their semifinal will be shifted to Lahore, where Pakistan plans to accommodate the Indian team throughout the tournament for security reasons and because of the city’s proximity to India.

For many years, India’s government has barred the national cricket team from travelling to Pakistan because of ongoing political tensions between the two neighbours.

India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for last year’s 50-over Asia Cup resulted in a costly logistical nightmare for tournament organisers with Sri Lanka stepping in to co-host all the India