Here’s why ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will have no Indian match official

KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, announced the list of match officials for the highly-anticipated men’s Champions Trophy 2025, which did not feature any Indian.

According to Indian media, the development came after match referee Javagal Srinath and umpire Nitin Menon ‘mutually agreed’ with the ICC that the duo will not take any part in the upcoming eight-team tournament, set to be hosted by Pakistan.

Although, Srinath applied for leaves and Menon cited personal reasons, their decision is understood to be due to their reluctance of travelling to Pakistan. Srinath and Menon were not eligible to officiate any of the Dubai-bound matches as it involved India and thus, are set to miss the entire tournament.

Remember, the ICC appoints neutral umpires in all of its supervised competitions’ matches in a bid to promote transparency.

Match officials for ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson.

Match Referees: David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft.

The eight-team tournament, comprised of 15 matches, will run from February 19 to March 9, across three venues – Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi – in Pakistan and Dubai.

The eight teams are divided into two groups. Group A features Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Bangladesh, while Group B is comprised of Afghanistan, South Africa, England and Australia.

Hosts Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the curtain raiser on February 19 in Karachi, while the blockbuster clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India is scheduled for February 23 in Dubai.

Pakistan will host a total of 10 matches in their country, while four matches, including all three of India's group-stage matches and the first semi-final, will be played in Dubai.

The final of the tournament is scheduled to be played in Lahore but if India qualify then it will also be held in Dubai.

Furthermore, a reserve day has also been allocated for the final clash as a precautionary measure to combat any weather-related hindrance.