Champions Trophy 2025 to be shifted to Pakistan? ICC blamed for ‘sad tournament’ after empty stadium during IND vs BAN

ICC's first major tournament of the year, Champions Trophy 2025 is underway with two crucial matches done and dusted and another clash set to take place today. However, unlike the ICC tournaments in the past, the Champions Trophy matches so far – both in Dubai and Pakistan - have witnessed empty stands prompting questions about the preparedness for the tournament.

Despite an ICC tournament being played in Pakistan after 29 overs, the buzz for the Champions Trophy was missing during the Pakistan vs New Zealand match - also the opening match of the tournament - as empty stands were caught on camera at the time of the toss and the national anthems.

During the India vs Bangladesh clash on Thursday also, vacant seats at the Dubai international stadium, which has a capacity of around 25,000 people, grabbed attention.

How are experts reacting to empty stadiums during Champions Trophy 2025?

Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi took to X to question not just the empty stands during the Champions Trophy, but the relevance of 50-over cricket. He wrote, “Watching the @ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between #India and #Bangladesh. Stands are empty. That would not happen at an #IPL game. Is the one-day format becoming irrelevant to the fans? What’s your view? Should one-day cricket be scrapped and more Test cricket?”

Meanwhile, former England cricketer Michael Vaughan also had a bit of fun about the empty stadiums in Pakistan, writing, “Great to see the champions trophy being played in Pakistan .. First major event since 1996 .. Have they forgotten to tell the locals it’s on .. Where is the crowd ?? #ChampionsTrophy2025”

Netizens react to empty seats during Champions Trophy:

“Almost half empty stadium , boring matches .... zero interest ! This #ChampionsTrophy is DULL Af” wrote one user

“Dubai is almost Empty. People wants cricket in evening specially in business cities like Dubai, Karachi and other business cities” added another user

Meanwhile, another user on X suggested that ICC should only conduct events in certain countries. They wrote, “ICC events in the West Indies and Dubai don't give any vibes due to empty grounds. Only SA, IND, ENG, AUS & NZ should host ICC events”

“Empty stadium in Dubai, no one is interested in #ChampionsTrophy2025 seriously. Also ODI format is too boring ,they should end this tournament after this edition. Test is ultimate, T20 is amazing n fun but ODI cricket is just boring, at least they should reduce it to 40 overs.” Yet another user added