Pakistan’s cricket team arrived in Dubai on Thursday for their crucial ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match against arch-rivals India on February 23. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially announced the match officials for the highly anticipated India vs Pakistan clash in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Key Appointments for the India vs Pakistan Match
For the high-voltage India vs Pakistan game scheduled for February 23 at the Dubai International Stadium, Paul Reiffel and Richard Illingworth have been appointed as the on-field umpires. Michael Gough will serve as the TV umpire, while Adrian Holdstock will be the fourth umpire. David Boon will take charge as the Match Referee.
Pakistan Cricket Team arrive in Dubai for a must Win game against India
A big defeat against New Zealand by 60 runs has left Pakistan in a must win situation. For Pakistan to recover its wounded pride, they desperately want to win against India.
Pakistan would have to rely on another team to go to the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinals if they lost the second game vs India.
Full List of Match Officials
The complete list of umpires includes experienced officials such as Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Ahsan Raza, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Alex Wharf, and Joel Wilson. These officials were also officiated at the 2023 World Cup in India.
Umpires for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025:
- 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
The match referees who will assess the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy include David Boon from the 2017 Champions Trophy final Ranjan Madugalle from the 2013 final and Andrew Pycroft who oversaw the 2017 tournament.
Match Referees for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025:
- David Boon
- Ranjan Madugalle
- Andrew Pycroft
ICC’s Commitment to Fair Play
The ICC Senior Manager of Umpires and Referees, Sean Easey, stressed the significance of selecting a top-notch officiating staff for the competition. This highly qualified group of match officials for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 is something we are happy to announce. Their combined knowledge and experience will be crucial to making sure the competition goes well, Easey stated. “We always aim to select the most worthy officials for such esteemed events, and we are sure that this group will perform exceptionally well in Pakistan and the UAE,” he continued. We hope they have an unforgettable competition.
Absence of Indian Match Officials
Interestingly, the Champions Trophy 2025 roster does not include any Indian match officials. It is believed that Nitin Menon, one of the ICC’s elite panel umpires, and Javagal Srinath, one of the most active ICC match referees, had mutually agreed with the ICC to not officiate any matches during the tournament’s Pakistan leg. Indian match officials are automatically disqualified because all of the matches in Dubai will involve India and demand neutral officials.
Ind vs Pak Match Venue
The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 will be held across Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates from February 19 to March 9. The tournament will be held in four venues: Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi in Pakistan, and Dubai in the UAE.
A group stage match between India and Pakistan will be played at the Dubai International Stadium at 2:30 P.M. IST as part of the Champions Trophy 2025.
Match Official Schedule for Group Stage:
India vs Pakistan, February 23 – Dubai
- On-field umpires: Paul Reiffel and Richard Illingworth
- TV umpire: Michael Gough
- Fourth umpire: Adrian Holdstock
- Match Referee: David Boon
Ind vs Pak expected playing 11
| India expected playing 11 |
| Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav |
| Pakistan expected playing 11 |
| Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (C/WK), Agha Salman, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed |
Conclusion
For the Champions Trophy 2025, the International Cricket Council selected match officials of exceptional expertise who will conduct the tournament with complete integrity and fairness. This prominent India vs Pakistan game will take place under the oversight of on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Richard Illingworth. Since Indian officials are missing from the hybrid hosting format the selected umpires and referees will be vital in preserving game integrity and neutrality.
