Tickets for the 2025 Champions Trophy final, scheduled on March 9, will be available only four days prior to the match. Announcing the sale of tickets on Monday for the eight-team tournament, which begins from February 19, the ICC said tickets for the final will be available after the first semi-final, which is scheduled on March 4.
Such a late release of tickets for the final has been necessitated by the hybrid model put in place for the tournament because of India's refusal to travel to Pakistan for the event. As a result, it was decided India would play all their matches in Dubai, including the knockouts should they reach them. Dubai will host the first semi-final, however, regardless of whether India reach the last four or not. In case India reach the final, that too will be played in Dubai. The second semi-final will be played in Lahore, and should India not make the final, that game will also be played in Lahore.
The ICC on Monday said the tickets for the Pakistan leg of the Champions Trophy, comprising 10 matches and the Lahore semi-final, will go on sale from Tuesday (2 pm Pakistan time/1.30 pm IST). Tickets for the Dubai leg are not going on sale yet, the ICC saying, "information would be made available in the coming days" without specifying any date.
Tickets for matches in Pakistan are priced from 1000 Pakistan rupees [approx. 3.59 USD] for the general category, while the premium category starts from 1500 rupees [approx. 5.38 USD]. Sumair Ahmad Syed, the tournament director and PCB COO, said the tickets have been made "affordable" to ensure "fans from all walks of life can be part of this historic spectacle, making it a celebration for all generations of cricket lovers."
India and Pakistan are both in Group A, along with Bangladesh and New Zealand. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan group game is scheduled to take place in Dubai on February 23.
The PCB is currently racing to have its stadiums ready for the event. All three venues in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi have been undergoing varying degrees of renovation but the Pakistan board remains confident that they will be ready ahead of time. Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and Karachi's National Stadium are due to host a short triangular ODI series with New Zealand and South Africa before the Champions Trophy.
The 2023 ODI World Cup in India was also hampered by a late release of tickets, with the first batch going on sale 41 days before the opening game.