The opening ceremony of the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will take place either on February 16 or 17, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is confident that India captain Rohit Sharma will visit the country to participate in the ceremony.

The PCB is waiting to hear from the International Cricket Council on the schedule of the captains’ photoshoot and the press conference. The eight-team tournament will start on February 19 in Karachi.

However, the Men in Blue will play all their matches in Dubai, starting with the match against Bangladesh on February 20. The source said PCB has already spoken to the government to issue visas to the captains, players and team officials at the earliest for the pre-tournament events.

“This includes captain Rohit Sharma or any other Indian player or the BCCI official,” the source said.

Another source confirmed to PTI that Pakistan have informed the ICC that the opening ceremony will be held in the country. “This is the process which is followed in every ICC tournament. Since the Champions Trophy will start on February 19, the ceremony can be expected on February 16 or 17,” the source added. The schedule of the opening ceremony would also depend on the warm-up matches.

The source revealed that three Indians who visited Pakistan as a part of the ICC delegation were given visas the moment their names were sent to the PCB.