The Champions Trophy 2025 will not have Indian match officials, as two top candidates have excused themselves from officiating in Pakistan.

 

According to Indian media, Javagal Srinath, a respected match referee, and Nitin Menon, an elite ICC umpire, both withdrew owing to personal reasons.

 

Reports claim that Menon declined to travel to Pakistan, and since he couldn’t officiate in India's matches in Dubai, he was left out of the tournament.

 

Meanwhile, Srinath confirmed that he requested leave after already spending a long time away from home in November, December, and January.

 

Both are the only Indians in the ICC Elite Panel, and their absence was confirmed when the ICC announced the official match officials for the tournament.

 

The 12-member umpire panel includes Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Michael Gough, Paul Reiffel, Chris Gaffaney, and Kumar Dharmasena, while Ahsan Raza is the only Pakistani umpire on the list.

 

The match referees for the tournament will be David Boon, Ranjan Madugalle, and Andrew Pycroft.

 

Earlier, the Indian team refused to visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. The PCB agreed to a hybrid model for Indian matches.

 

As per the hybrid model, all India matches, including the semi-final and final if they qualify, will be played in Dubai. Similarly, if Pakistan participates in an ICC event in India, they will play at neutral venues.