ICC Champions Trophy Begins Today: Schedule, Venues, and Broadcast Details
The highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy is set to commence today after an eight-year hiatus, generating significant excitement among cricket enthusiasts. This marks the first ICC tournament to be hosted in Pakistan since 1996. However, due to India's refusal to travel to Pakistan, all of Team India's matches will be held in Dubai.
A total of eight teams are participating in the tournament, divided into two groups. The first round will feature 12 matches, followed by the knockout stage. Dubbed the "Mini World Cup," the competition will kick off with the opening match between defending champions Pakistan and New Zealand at 2:30 PM IST in Karachi. The much-awaited India-Pakistan clash is scheduled for February 23.
In Group A, India is placed alongside Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Pakistan. Group B consists of Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. Several teams are dealing with injury concerns, but each squad has fielded its best available players, ensuring a high-quality tournament.
How to Watch the Matches
All 15 matches of the Champions Trophy will begin at 2:30 PM IST. In India, the games will be broadcast live on Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Sports 18 1 Live, Sports 18 1 HD, and Sports 18 Khel. Additionally, fans can stream the matches live via the JioCinema app and website.
India's Squad for the Tournament
Playing Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy.
Non-traveling Reserves: Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj.