The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have decided to swap the One Day International (ODI) matches with Twenty20 International (T20I) games in the upcoming bilateral series between the two nations. This is done as part of preparations for both teams for the Asia Cup 2025 and the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

The initial series, the tour of Pakistan by Bangladesh in May 2025, had three ODIs in it originally but has now been changed to a series of five T20I matches by the boards. This will provide both the teams with great experience in the T20 format as they prepare for upcoming international tournaments.

The second series, the Pakistan tour of Bangladesh in July 2025, was also to be made up of three ODIs. But it will now include three T20I matches instead. This is done to provide the teams with more emphasis on T20 cricket, as both are gearing up for the challenges in the upcoming big T20 tournaments.

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This shift from ODIs to T20Is is happening when T20 cricket is rapidly gaining popularity throughout the world with the majority of the world's major cricket nations placing greater significance on this version due to its fast and short nature. It is being considered a major part of the run-up to the upcoming international tournaments like the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.

This change places particular importance on the increasing importance of T20I cricket within today's game and offers Bangladesh and Pakistan a chance to iron out their plans and improve their T20I side in preparation for the much-awaited Asia Cup 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2026.

PCB Confirms No Loss in Business by Hosting Champions Trophy 2025

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will not involve any loss of business. On the contrary, the board can expect to gain a profit of INR 86.25 crore from the tournament. This clarification comes in the wake of speculations that India might not come to Pakistan in light of political hostilities between the two countries.

Financial Gains from Hosting

• The PCB has estimated significant financial gains from hosting the event. The income will be derived from various sources, including:
  
• Broadcasting Rights: ICC sells media rights, guarantees major returns.
  
• Sponsorships: Huge brands will collaborate with ICC and PCB for promotion.
  
• Ticket Sales: Games featuring popular teams will draw huge crowds.
  
• Tourism Boost: Fans of cricket from all over the globe might travel to Pakistan.

India's Possible Absence and Alternative Plans
One of the main issues is whether India will play in Pakistan or if their games will be relocated to a neutral ground. The Indian government has not issued any official announcement regarding their decision. If India does not go, the ICC could relocate their games to some other place, like the UAE or Sri Lanka.

In spite of this doubt, the PCB is confident that the event will remain financially viable. The board contends that even if a few matches are hosted elsewhere, Pakistan will still receive a significant portion of the revenue.

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🚨 PCB SAYS NO LOSS FOR CT. 🚨

- PCB claims 86.25cr INR profit for hosting 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/UJuYiJRscu

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 21, 2025

Security and Hosting Arrangements

For smooth functioning, PCB is collaborating closely with:
Government Agencies: Ensuring high-level security for all teams.
ICC Officials: Complying with international standards for event management.
Stadium Preparations: Upgrading Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi facilities.

ICC Role in Decision Making
The last word on matters of hosting belongs to the International Cricket Council (ICC). It will review the security situation and determine if all teams, including India, play in Pakistan or at a neutral location.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lost a huge sum of money after the ICC Champions Trophy, which was the first ICC tournament in Pakistan in 29 years. The PCB lost a record Rs 869 crore in preparations for the tournament, including stadium refurbishment, security, etc. But the board earned only Rs 52 crore from hosting and ticketing fees. This led to a huge loss of Rs 739 crore, and the PCB's future to host big events was doubted. The poor financial performance has placed the PCB in a defensive position, and it is now reconsidering hosting future tournaments. The loss also questioned the long-term sustainability of hosting such tournaments in Pakistan.

Disappointing Return Despite Success of the Event:

While the Champions Trophy as a sporting event was a success, with the Pakistani team performing well and the crowd attending in good mood, the return in the form of finance was much less than expected. The PCB also expected to gain a profit by staging the tournament, but ticket and sponsorship sales were not sufficient to counter the astronomical expense. The loss signals the risks involved in hosting international events. The PCB will now have to investigate future events and how to organize them so that they raise sufficient money to avoid future financial losses. The board can also seek means of securing better sponsors and high turnout at future tournaments so as to reduce financial risks. In the future, the PCB can seek alternative revenue sources so that they can be profitable in the future.

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High Risks in Hosting Big Events:

This loss illustrates the danger in hosting large international events. Despite the fact that the PCB incurred a lot in preparing for the Champions Trophy, the revenue generated was not sufficient to offset the expenses. The board will have to plan thoroughly for future events to ensure that they are economically viable.

Pakistan cricket has been struggling in recent years, with constant changes in Captaincy, coaches, and selectors, but things haven’t improved or changed. These changes have hurt many players, including Babar Azam, one of Pakistan’s most talented cricketers. His form has dropped, and he has lost the captaincy twice. Recently, his performance in the Champions Trophy led to criticism from former players.

Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has backed up for Babar Azam after he faced criticism from ex-cricketers. Speaking to Sportstar, he said, "You have only one star player. If you keep bringing him down, how will Pakistan cricket move forward? Former players should stop with the negativity."

Ajmal pointed out that every cricketer goes through tough times. "Bad form is a part of the game. You can't always play the same way. Even Sachin Tendulkar didn’t score a hundred in every match." After Pakistan's disappointing performance in the Champions Trophy, the PCB board made quick changes. Mohammad Rizwan was removed as T20I captain, and both he and Babar Azam were dropped from the team.

“You only have one star and that is Babar Azam, if u will disrepect him then dont expect your cricket to survive” - Saeed Ajmal pic.twitter.com/158VeGgAwF

— Jalaad 🔥 حمزہ (@SaithHamzamir) March 15, 2025

Ajmal disagreed with the decision, saying, "Dropping them like this was unfair. It's not like they were the only ones struggling. The selectors should have talked to Babar about taking a break so he could come back stronger."

"Babar and Rizwan are great players. Their records are as good as anyone’s the only difference is that they don’t play very aggressively, but they still score runs. Now, suddenly, people think you have to be aggressive to succeed in international cricket."

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"Come on, what aggression are we even talking about? If they are proven match-winners, they don’t need to change their style. Even legends like Virat Kohli take their time to settle before attacking that’s just how he plays."

HBL (Habib Bank Limited) will be the title sponsor of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) up to the last match of the 10th edition, PSL X. HBL's sponsorship deal still stands for the current season, so they will continue to be the title sponsor according to the current contract.

There have been recent rumors that Red Bull signed a five-year agreement with the PSL, but it cannot be confirmed. Although Red Bull can join as a category sponsor, the title sponsorship rights for PSL X remain with HBL.

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Ahead of PSL 11, there will be a new cycle of sponsorship rights, and any business firm, including Red Bull, can participate in the bidding to own the title sponsorship for the season.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also made no declarations about the changes to the title sponsorship. The title sponsor ever since PSL commenced in 2016 has been HBL, and the consistent association between the two entities has been fundamental in the increase in popularity as well as growth of the league.

Even though Red Bull might become a category sponsor one day, nothing has changed as of now from the position HBL holds being the title sponsor.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has drastically cut player match fees for the next National T20 Cup. Players will get just PKR 10,000 per match, a drastic 75% slash from the last edition, when they were being paid PKR 40,000 per match.

This decision has also generated concerns among local players since most depend on match fees as their primary source of income. The National T20 Cup is among Pakistan's leading domestic competitions, with the country's best local players participating in it. Nevertheless, with this kind of sharp pay reduction, players may not be able to remain motivated and committed.

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The PCB has yet to offer an in-depth explanation for this decline, but it is likely to affect the morale of local cricketers. Most feel that investing in domestic talent is vital for the future of Pakistan cricket, and these financial cuts are likely to demotivate youngsters from taking up the sport as a career.

Fans and cricket pundits are now waiting to know whether the PCB will change its stance or offer alternate financial assistance to the players.

Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar congratulated their victory over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025. As Pakistan being host nation why did no official attended the final ceremony of Champions Trophy that was his take which he conveyed in his You Tube channel recently.Pakistan was the hosting nation for Champions trophy but India refused to travel Pakistan citing security reasons and played all their matches in Dubai.

While India went to knockout stages of champions Trophy and Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage. I was amazed there were no PCB officials on the ground what was wrong. Highlighting the match proceedings New Zealand won the huge toss and elected to bat first, seeking to add on the score board pressure in an important final. 

Rachin Ravindra and Will Young had an excellent 57 run opening partnership where India faulted with many missed catches at the start. 

Read more: India Wins The Third ICC Champions Trophy

India Battled Out Their Rivals

Soon Kuldeep and Chakravarthy applied breaks to the ongoing kiwis innings where they removed Young, Williamson and Rachin Ravindra where New Zealand were 75/3.Bracewell and Mitchell gave their best to move the score card above where Mitchell scored 63 runs of 101 balls and Bracewell too completed his 53 runs of 40 balls, giving a fighting total of 251 runs against India. 

Kuldeep and Varun claimed two wickets each and in the end, Shami too added his name to the wickets list but conceded 74 runs in 9 overs. In reply India started graciously where Rohit Sharma and Subhman Gill paced India's innings, both giving 105 runs partnership stand.  But soon Virat, Rohit and Gill were removed in quite successive intervals. Rohit scored a brilliant 74 runs and Gill scored 31 runs.

Read more: Indian Team Fielding Resides Poor Display In Champions Trophy Final

India stuck into the middle phase but Axar and Iyer played well to retaliate, Shreyas scored a well-made 48 runs ticking the score board both scored a 61-run partnership but eventually Iyer lost his wicket and then Rahul and Axar carried forward the innings. India lost Axar too in quick succession but Pandya and Rahul ensured to bring the match too close. In the end, Jadeja ended the match preceding the boundary where India won by 4 wickets. 

PCB Shouldn't Have Done This

 Though India didn't visited Pakistan its about political issues and I won't go into it it was your tournament our tournament, we fought for it, to get happen in our country. It was really strange for me there were no PCB persons took their involment. Why there was no one from PCB managment to give away the prizes and the trophy. 

This is literally beyond my understanding.
How can this be done???#championstrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/CPIUgevFj9

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) March 9, 2025

I am feeling down to see what our management had done, I didn't expect from the top management, which he expressed in this video via Twitter.

Pakistan’s matches in the Champions Trophy 2025 campaign were a big disaster, Team is not performing well in the group stage after losing all three matches. In response, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made big changes to the squad for the upcoming T20I series in New Zealand.

The biggest shock was the exclusion of Babar Azam and captain Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I squad against Newzland. Babar, who has been under pressure for his inconsistent performances, scored just 126 runs in three games in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, including a slow 64 in a losing effort in the Touranment. His struggles led to heavy criticism, with former cricketers like Shoaib Akhtar even calling him a "fraud".

Babar Azam's father, Azam Siddique, reacts to his son's exclusion from Pakistan's T20I squad for the upcoming New Zealand series 🇵🇰🗣️#BabarAzam #T20Is #Pakistan #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/ncbwvfuW7r

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) March 6, 2025

Babar’s father, Azam Siddique, came to his defense, hitting back at the PCB and critics in a fiery social media post on Instagram.

"The boss is always right. He was named in the ICC’s T20I Team of the Year, yet he was still dropped. That’s okay. He will prove himself in National T20 and PSL. Insha Allah, he will make a strong comeback. Former players should think before they speak. If someone replies to them, they might not be able to handle it. They are the past, and that chapter is closed," he wrote. He also slammed those questioning his support for Babar, saying a father will always stand by his son.

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Babar Azam Dropped as PCB Shakes Up Squad for New Zealand Tour

Aaqib Javed, Pakistan’s interim head coach and selector, explained that the team wants to develop a new playing style for modern-day T20 cricket.

"Most top teams have 70% different squads for T20s. We are also working on that before the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup. We need players who play fearless cricket," Javed said in Lahore. With these changes, Pakistan is looking to rebuild and prepare for the big tournaments ahead like Asia Cup and T20 World Cup .

Pakistan is hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but the country is facing massive criticism for poor preparation, which hasn't built any better or good image for the cricket-loving country. One of the poor scenes is recently going viral on the social media accounts, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been criticised massively.

ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is the most important tournament for Pakistan

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is the first ICC tournament in Pakistan after the 1996 Cricket World Cup. For many years, the country couldn't bring the top international cricket tournaments, mainly due to security reasons. Although the PCB and the Pakistan government have tried to show their best practices to host the ICC tournament, the results aren't similar anyway.

Including the hosts and defending champions Pakistan, eight teams have participated in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. However, India, the only team of the eight participating teams, refused to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns, and ultimately, their matches have been shifted to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 

Even during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, many incidents raised massive security concerns in the country, including some news of terrorist attacks in the country and a threat for kidnapping of the foreigners who came to experience the ICC tournament. The PCB has also failed to impress with their hosting preparation. 

See Also: PCB Announces Full Ticket Refund for Abandoned Rawalpindi Matches

Roof leaking in Gaddafi Stadium

The PCB renovated all the stadiums in Pakistan, which are hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. These stadiums are National Stadium in Karachi, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. While there were major concerns of renovation completion before the tournament, the PCB was always stubborn to stun the cricket world with their on-time finishes. However, the real pictures are really disappointing.

Recently, a social media video showed a major flaw inside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. While the PCB reportedly used 1800 crore to renovate all the stadiums and tried to produce some of the best cricket stadiums, Gaddafi Stadium has experienced a massive leaking roof in light rain during the Australia vs Afghanistan match. That Group B match was stopped in the early evening due to rain. It ended with a no result as the match wasn't possible to restart, and the chasing team Australia played 12.5 overs.

1280 Crore Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan.
Ye stadium ke baare me Pakistani bol rahe the ki record 4 mahine me Asia ka best stadium bana diya.#ChmapionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/0Re2B2A03j

— Krishna (@Atheist_Krishna) March 2, 2025

The Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is one of the most important venues of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. It will host the second Semi-final and can also host the Final only if India fail to advance to the Final. But the most important venue for Pakistan is going through a bad experience, and it is surely not good news for Pakistan cricket. Also, not to forget that the PCB's method to handle rain on the ground has completely unimpressed the cricket world, including showing a poor drainage system.

Cricket enthusiasts who were left disillusioned by the rain-washed matches in Rawalpindi can now heave a sigh of relief. The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced a complete refund of the two ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches that were abandoned without any ball being bowled.
Which Matches Are Eligible
The refund is for the Australia vs South Africa match on February twenty-fifth and the Bangladesh vs Pakistan match on February twenty-seventh. Ticket holders for these matches can get their refund from March tenth to March 16 at authorized TCS branches in Pakistan.
Who Can Get a Refund
All general enclosure ticket holders qualify. Hospitality ticket holders, including those in VIP boxes, will not be refunded. The refund can only be claimed by the original ticket holder and not by someone else.

🚨 PCB has announced a full ticket refund for the two matches that were abandoned without a ball being bowled at Rawalpindi Stadium.

- Eligible ticket holders can claim their refund at selected TCS outlets between 10 Mar to 14 Mar. pic.twitter.com/eJYjBbxANS

— 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞 (@CallMeSheri1) March 1, 2025

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How to Claim Your Refund
If you possess a valid ticket, here is what to do. Go to any of the specified TCS shops in big cities such as Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Produce your original, intact ticket to serve as evidence of purchase. Show the ticket to the TCS staff, and they will refund your money.
Where to Go for Refunds
Some of the main TCS centers dealing with refunds are Gulberg Express Center and Thokar Niaz Baig Express Center in Lahore, CAA Head Office Express Center and Ittehad Flagship Express Center in Karachi, and I Nine Express Center in Islamabad. Others are based in Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Hyderabad.
To see the complete list of outlets, refer to the PCB website or get details from TCS branches.
Important Notes
Refunds will be made only between March tenth and March 16, and no claims after that will be accepted. The PCB refund policy is strictly for matches that were abandoned before the toss. Make sure your ticket is in good condition, as damaged or photocopied tickets will be refused.
A Small Consolation for Fans
Though fans were dismayed to miss live action because of inclement weather, the refund option is a step in the right direction. Cricket fans now get a chance to have their money back and hopefully watch future matches uninterrupted.
For further updates, follow the PCB's official social media channels and watch out for future Champions Trophy action.