Table of Contents
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Qualification scenario, teams participating in the tournament, Champions Trophy history
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to happen in February, with Pakistan hosting the 8-nation tournament. The last time, the Champions Trophy (CT) happened was in 2017 in which Pakistan lifted the trophy by beating India in the final. In 2016, the ICC (International Cricket Council) canceled the future editions of the Champions Trophy, aiming to have only one major tournament in each format. But the ICC decided to revive the tournament in 2021 and now, the 9th edition of this tournament is set to happen next year. Today, we will see what were the qualification scenarios, the teams participating, and also the Champions Trophy history. So let’s dive into it quickly.
What’s the qualification scenario for Champions Trophy 2025?
The teams who finished in the top 8 of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 points table, along with the hosts Pakistan have qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Before that, the qualification scenarios for the qualification in Champions Trophy were different. The teams who finished in the top 8 of the ICC ODI rankings, along with the hosts qualified for the tournament. But this qualification scenario came as a surprise for a few. England’s head coach, Matthew Mott, said in the press conference last year that he came to know about this just before the end of the India vs England match (in WC 2023).
Teams participating in the Champions Trophy 2025
The 8 teams who are participating in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 are:-
India
South Africa
Australia
New Zealand
Afghanistan
England
Pakistan (hosts)
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka and the Netherlands failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 as they finished at No. 9 and 10 respectively in the World Cup 2023 points table. That also means teams like West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, etc are automatically out of the qualification scenario.
A Revival of Champions Trophy
The tournament last happened in 2017 in England and Wales. Pakistan won the trophy by beating the arch-rivals, Team India in the final by 180 runs. In 2016, the ICC decided to cancel the future editions of Champions Trophy (other than 2017), to have only one major tournament in each format.
But in 2021, the ICC decided to revive the 8-nation tournament and now, Champions Trophy will happen in February 2025, with Pakistan having the hosting rights.
Venues are still not decided for the tournament
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) proposed three venues; Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi to the ICC as venues for the Champions Trophy 2025. They sent the initial draft to the ICC, in which all the games of the tournament will happen in Pakistan, including India’s game.
However, the PCB will face a problem as the Indian government might not allow the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to send their team to Pakistan. That’s why the venues are still not known for the tournament.
A hybrid model is an option for PCB
If India won’t go to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025, PCB might look at a hybrid model as the option. Last year as well, in the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan hosted a few games in Pakistan, and the rest of the tournament, including India’s games and the final happened in Sri Lanka.
History of Champions Trophy
A Champions Trophy started in 1998 to raise funds for the development of the game in non-test playing nation countries. The tournament began with the name ICC Knockout Tournament in 1998. The first two editions happened in Bangladesh and Kenya. And then the funds raised from those tournaments were used to develop non-test playing nations.
List of winners in Champions Trophy history
| No. | Country | Win Year | |
| 1 | South Africa | 1998 | SA won the title by beating West Indies in the final. Kallis took 8 wickets in the tournament. |
| 2 | New Zealand | 2000 | NZ won the final against India by chasing down a target of 265. Chris Cairns scored a century in the 2nd inning. |
| 3 | India and Sri Lanka (joint winners) | 2002 | The final was abandoned due to heavy rain on two back-to-back days. India and Sri Lanka were declared as joint winners. |
| 4 | West Indies | 2004 | WI won the final by beating England by 2 wickets. Ramnaresh Sarwan becomes the player of the tournament. |
| 5 | Australia | 2006 | AUS won by 8 wickets (DLS method) in the final against Windies. Nathan Bracken took 3 wickets in the final. |
| 6 | Australia | 2009 | AUS won the final against NZ. Ricky Ponting becomes the player of the tournament. |
| 7 | India | 2013 | India won the final against England. Shikhar Dhawan becomes the player of the tournament. |
| 8 | Pakistan | 2017 | Pakistan won the final against India. Hasan Ali becomes the player of the tournament. |
↻ Champions Trophy 2025 | PCB Proposed 3 Venues To ICC
Champions Trophy 2025 format
Champions Trophy 2025 will follow the same format as before. Two groups will be made, consisting of four teams each. The top two teams from both groups will play in the semifinals. The winner of the semifinals will play in the final.
A total of 15 games will happen in Champions Trophy 2025, including the semifinals and the final.
So this is all about Champions Trophy 2025, the tournament’s history, and a few more things.
FAQs:-
(1) Who scored the most runs in Champions Trophy history?
Chris Gayle has scored the most runs (791) in tournament history.
(2) Who took the most wickets in the tournament’s history?
Kyle Mills has taken the most wickets (28) in Champions Trophy history.
(3) Which Indian batter has scored the most runs in Champions Trophy history?
Shikhar Dhawan has scored the most runs (701) for India in Champions Trophy history. He averages 77.88 and has a strike rate of 101.59.
