Pakistan will host a first major multi-country cricket tournament in nearly three decades next week and its cricket chief is hopeful that a successful Champions Trophy will bring a flood of other such events.

Bitter rivals India and Pakistan rarely play each other on the cricket field, but when they do there is an unparalleled thirst for tickets.

However, those hopes have turned gloomy, and instead, cricket’s most intensified and passionate rivalry will resume at the Dubai International Stadium, in Dubai. Notably, the archrivals are set to clash on February 23,

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand in the tri-nation series final in a dress rehearsal for both teams ahead of next week’s opening game of the Champions Trophy.

Follow live coverage of Pakistan vs New Zealand from the Tri-Series in Pakistan 2025 today. The ICC Test Championship sees nine teams compete across a two-year cycle of matches before a two-team final decides the winner.