The ICC Champion Trophy, also known as the Mini World Cup, is a big deal in cricket. International Cricket Council (ICC) organized a quadrennial cricket tournament and inaugurated the Champions Trophy in 1998. Non-test playing countries got a chance to play short cricket tournaments for one-day international matches and became the top most viewed sports event. Initially, at the time of its inauguration, the name was the ICC KnockOut Trophy, later renamed the Champion Trophy in 2002. Top cricketing nations gain a platform to compete besides the Cricket World Cup and excel in skills to play at the international level.
Background of ICC – A Brief Recap
Bangladesh organized the first ICC Trophy in June 1998 and after that, It was exhausted for 23 years with six editions. Initially, Two ICC Trophies were held in ICC Associate member nations which are Bangladesh and Kenya. ICC provided a platform to collect funds for the development of cricket in various countries. Afterwards , match hosting has been shared by all the six member countries of ICC for one match in the tournament.
Currently, qualification phase involves preceding the edition of Cricket World Cup to assess the team for tournament phase. There have been a total 8 editions of the ICC tournament. Pakistan won the 2017 ICC Champion Trophy and secured the hosting for 2025.
Format and Participants of ICC Champion Trophy
ICC Champion Trophy typically involves 8 teams from various member countries. One Day International (ODI) is key to figure out competition teams to appear for ICC winners. There are further stages of ICC , which are the following:
| All the teams are divided into two groups of four. |
| Two teams from each group move forwards on the basis of performance to the semi final. |
| Top two teams compete in the semi final and decide the winning teams. |
| In the final , one of the two teams qualified for the ICC Champion Trophy. |
Major Difference Between The Champion Trophy and The World Cup
Although both Champion Trophy and World Cup contests are cricket tournaments, they differ in mainly three ways. However, both the ICC and World Cup are held after four years but have different cycles. Majorly, they are different in the following ways:
| World Cup matches often last over a month. | ICC Cup matches are held around two and half weeks only. |
| World Cup contest teams are higher in number which are 10. | Total number of teams in the ICC Champion Trophy are 8. |
| The World Cup teams qualification criteria is complex as it involves associated nations. | ICC Champion Cup teams qualify on the basis of ODI only. |
Current Status
In 2021, on November 16, the next host for ICC Champions Trophy is Pakistan. It was announced during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. After the attack on the Sri Lanka team near Gaddafi Stadium Lahore in 2009, Pakistan was selected for the first global tournament ICC. 1996 was the last year in Pakistan when it hosted the Cricket World Cup. Moreover it was co hosted with India and Sri Lanka. Moreover , the 2023 World Cup was the first time for Sri Lanka that it could not qualify for the tournament. As per the updates, Afghanistan will make their first appearance in the ICC tournament in 2025.
Final Words
ICC Champion Trophy provided a platform to excel cricket skill at an international level besides World cup. It also provides a great amusing activity for various nations to test their players before the world cup. First ICC tournament was held in 1998 in Bangladesh and next Pakistan is going to host it in 2025. It has a total of 8 teams and the world cup has 10.
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