Within 15 months after the World Cup final, the fans will get to witness top eight teams fighting it out for yet another trophy in the ODI format in the Champions Trophy. The designated hosts are Pakistan for the tournament but things can change in upcoming months especially if India refuse to travel to the country like they did in the Asia Cup last year.
While that matter is for later, lack of preparation for the competition might come back to haunt the Indian team. The Champions Trophy is making its comeback after 2017 and India have no ODIs scheduled to be played until January 2025 with the tournament expected to happen in February. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has more or less zeroed in on February 2025 as the window and team India isn't free to play any kind of ODIs till January next year.
The players are currently busy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and in June, T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in the West Indies and the USA. Soon after the mega event, the men in blue will head to Zimbabwe for five T20Is with the tour concluding on July 14.
The schedule for India's home season is yet to be confirmed but they are due to host Bangladesh and New Zealand for a total of five Test matches. India are also set to tour Australia for five Test matches from November with the schedule for the same announced only today (March 26). The first Test will be played in Perth from November 22 and the tour will end in Sydney on January 7, 2025.
This indicates at a packed scheduled for Rohit Sharma and his men which might create problems for the team. However, there is still a possibility of BCCI scheduling an ODI series against either Bangladesh or New Zealand if, at all, there is a window in an already packed schedule. As of now, the team is not scheduled to play a single ODI before the Champions Trophy.
