The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the match officials for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, which will be held in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from February 19 to March 9.
The tournament will be held at four iconic venues — Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi in Pakistan, and Dubai in the UAE.
According to a statement issued by the cricket body, a distinguished panel of 12 umpires will officiate the 8-team event, with six returning officials from the 2017 edition, including Richard Kettleborough, who stood in the final of the previous Champions Trophy in the UK.
Kettleborough, a veteran of 108 Men’s ODIs, will be joined by fellow umpires Chris Gaffaney, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth, Paul Reiffel, and Rod Tucker, who also officiated in the 2017 tournament.
Dharmasena will be extending his stint of officiating 132 ODIs at the upcoming tournament, a record for an umpire from Sri Lanka in the One-Day format.
Kettleborough and Illingworth, who both stood together during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad, are joined by Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Ahsan Raza, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Alex Wharf, and Joel Wilson, all of whom officiated at the World Cup in India.
The panel of match referees will be led by David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, and Andrew Pycroft, all esteemed members of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. Boon officiated the 2017 Champions Trophy final, while Madugalle returns after officiating the 2013 final, and Pycroft also featured in the 2017 tournament.
Match officials
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Rodney Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson.
Match Referees: David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft.
The eight-team tournament, comprised of 15 matches, will run from February 19 to March 9, across three venues – Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi – in Pakistan and Dubai.
The eight teams are divided into two groups. Group A features Pakistan, India, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, while Group B is comprised of Afghanistan, South Africa, England and Australia.
Hosts Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the curtain raiser on February 19 in Karachi, while the blockbuster clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India is scheduled for February 23 in Dubai.
Pakistan will host a total of 10 matches in their country, while four matches, including all three of India’s group-stage matches and the first semi-final, will be played in Dubai.
The final of the tournament is scheduled to be played in Lahore but if India qualify then it will also be held in Dubai.
Furthermore, a reserve day has also been allocated for the final clash as a precautionary measure to combat any weather-related hindrance.
