The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reached a breakthrough in the ongoing impasse over the 2025 Champions Trophy, with a hybrid model agreed upon for the event. Under this new arrangement, all of India's matches in the eight-team tournament, which will be hosted in Pakistan, will take place at a neutral venue. In return, Pakistan’s matches in ICC events hosted in India will also be played at neutral venues.

Details of the agreement, which is set to be put to an ICC board vote, reveal that during the 2024-2027 event cycle, any matches involving India in events held in Pakistan will be played at a neutral location. Similarly, matches involving Pakistan in events hosted by India will also be shifted to a neutral venue. This decision will affect several major ICC tournaments, including the 2025 men's Champions Trophy in Pakistan, the 2025 women's ODI World Cup in India, and the 2026 men's T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

This arrangement may also extend to the 2028 women’s T20 World Cup, which has now been awarded to Pakistan and will be the first tournament of the next event cycle.

The neutral venues will be proposed by the host board of each tournament and will need to be approved by the ICC. The move aims to address ongoing tensions and logistical challenges surrounding India and Pakistan’s participation in each other’s hosted events, with both nations historically refusing to play against each other on each other's soil due to political tensions.

Additionally, the ICC has indicated it has no objections to the idea of a triangular T20I series involving India, Pakistan, and another Asian Full Member nation—or even an Associate Asian nation—to make it a quadrangular tournament. This proposed tri-nation series would serve as compensation for Pakistan, who would otherwise miss out on hosting India's matches during the 2025 Champions Trophy.

This decision marks a significant step forward in resolving long-standing issues between India and Pakistan within the international cricket calendar, providing a structure that allows both nations to participate in ICC events while addressing political sensitivities.