The ICC has greenlit a substantial budget of approximately USD 70 million for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, set to take place in Pakistan early next year. This decision was confirmed on Thursday by a reliable source close to the ICC. The budget, meticulously reviewed and sanctioned by the ICC’s financial and commercial committee led by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, was prepared and submitted jointly by the Pakistan Cricket Board and the ICC finance department. According to the source, the budget allocation includes USD 70 million for the main expenses, with an additional USD 4.5 million set aside for unforeseen costs.
In other exciting news, there’s speculation about India potentially facing Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 group stage. The recent budget approval has sparked discussions that the additional funds might be a contingency in case India decides against traveling to Pakistan, possibly necessitating some matches to be moved to alternative venues. However, the source noted that the extra USD 4.5 million seems relatively modest compared to the overall budget for covering such contingencies.
Jay Shah, who is also the head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), recently oversaw the awarding of the 2025 T20 Asia Cup to India and the 2027 50-over Asia Cup to Bangladesh. The tentative format for next year’s Asia Cup suggests that India and Pakistan could be grouped together, with a possibility of meeting again in the Super Four stage and potentially in the final.
Despite some logistical challenges and additional costs during the 2023 Asia Cup held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the ACC managed to turn a profit from the tournament.