Pakistan will take on the their arch rivals, India, next year on June 4 in their first group-stage game of the ICC Champions Trophy set to be held in England.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the fixtures for the eight-team tournament earlier today at The Oval, London.
The top eight teams in the ICC One-Day International (ODI) Rankings are divided into two groups with the top-ranked Australia leading Group A and the defending champions India leading the Group B.
The last time the Asian giants played in the event in 2013, India beat Pakistan in the rain-affected match by eight wickets.
However, in the 2009 edition, Pakistan beat India by 54 runs in South Africa which marked the ‘Green Shirts’ first victory in a global event over the arch-rivals.
Pakistan will face South Africa on June 7 and Sri Lanka on June 12 in their remaining two group-stage fixtures.
The 18-day tournament will begin on June 1 with the hosts England taking on Bangladesh.
England, who secured berths in the final when the tournament was staged on their soil, will look to make use of the home advantage again this time.
The ICC Chief Executive David Richardson while announcing the fixtures said: “The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is not just an ODI competition, it carries a great deal of value since it is being played just three months before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 qualification cut-off date. As such, every point earned here could be crucial.
“The announcement of the ICC Champions Trophy schedule 12 months before the start of the event will provide sufficient time to all eight sides to plan for the tournament and arrive in England and Wales fully prepared and geared up so that they can collect enough points to directly qualify for the 2019 extravaganza.”
The top-two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
A total of 15 matches will be played on three different venues. The final is scheduled to be played at The Oval.
Event schedule
Thurs, 1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (d) Fri, 2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (d) Sat, 3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (d) Sun, 4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (d) Mon, 5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (d/n) Tues, 6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (d) Wed, 7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (d/n) Thurs, 8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (d) Fri, 9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (d) Sat, 10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (d) Sun, 11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (d) Mon, 12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (d) Wed, 14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (d) Thurs, 15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (d) Sun, 18 June – Final, The Oval (d) Mon, 19 June – Reserve day (d)
