The Champions Trophy semi-finals’ unusual scheduling across two countries means that the teams qualifying from Group B, likely Australia and South Africa, will travel to the UAE on Saturday.
According to an ICC official, this decision aims to give the team playing the Dubai semi-final on March 4 maximum preparation time. However, this arrangement puts one team in a difficult situation: they will leave Pakistan for Dubai, only to return to Pakistan the next day. While the Lahore semi-final is scheduled for March 5, the tournament’s structure forces one team to travel and train at a venue they won’t actually play at the following day.
Australia is already heading to Dubai after their match against Afghanistan in Lahore was abandoned. South Africa, expected to qualify, will leave Karachi for Dubai soon after their game against England concludes.
If Afghanistan unexpectedly qualifies instead of South Africa, they will also travel to Dubai as quickly as possible.
The specific semi-final matchups and locations will be finalized after India and New Zealand’s last group game on Sunday. India will compete in Dubai regardless of their group standing. This means the Group B teams will only learn their semi-final venue after the India vs. New Zealand match.
This situation was almost unavoidable because India must play their matches outside of Pakistan, despite Pakistan being the official host. The PCB tried for months to get India to play in Pakistan, even suggesting Lahore as the venue for all of India’s games. However, the BCCI stated that the Indian government would not permit the team to play cricket in Lahore due to political tensions between the two nations.
Venue uncertainty extends to the final as well. If India wins their semi-final, the final will be in Dubai. If they lose, the final will be at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
