History of Champions Trophy

It's February 2025, and in ICC's quest to streamline its tournament calendar into a uniform cycle, we are gearing up for the third ICC tournament in the span of just 15 months. This time, it's the return of the Champions Trophy.

The marquee tournament, set to begin on February 19th, is making a comeback after eight long years. It was once regarded as the second-most prestigious tournament after the ODI World Cup, but now, it is like the middle child of cricket—neither the biggest ODI tournament nor a major T20I or Test event. It has arguably borne the brunt of T20 cricket's growing commercial dominance and ICC's constant experimentation.

Since its inception, the ICC has repeatedly altered the tournament's structure, and with the changing landscape of cricket, its relevance has fluctuated.

Originally, in 1998, the ICC conceived the idea of holding a short ODI tournament every two years featuring the top Test-playing nations competing in a knockout format. The objective was to raise funds for the growth of cricket in associate or non-Test-playing countries. It was named the Wills International Cup and, it began directly at the pre-quarter-final or quarter-final stage. As the tournament gained popularity, its significance—and perhaps even its objective—evolved, leading to its rebranding as the ICC KnockOut Trophy first and later as the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002.

Along with the title change, the 2002 edition also saw a shift from knockouts to a round-robin structure, with teams divided into groups in the first phase. The 1998 and 2000 editions were hosted in Bangladesh and Kenya, respectively, as part of the ICC’s efforts to expand cricket’s reach. But as the tournament grew into a 'mini World Cup' by 2002, its venues were limited to full ICC member nations.

In the same year, the Champions Trophy was also expanded to include the associate nations, and from 2002 until 2006, teams like Bangladesh, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Netherlands, and the USA participated in one or more editions.

Another significant shift came in 2008.

Until 2006, the Champions Trophy was held every two years, and the 2008 tournament was also scheduled in the same manner in Pakistan. However, due to security concerns in the host country, the tournament was first postponed to 2009 and later moved to South Africa. Amidst these changes, the ICC also decided to limit the CT to the top eight ranked teams in ODIs and to hold the tournament quadrennially.

From that point though, the rise of T20 cricket, along with the existence of the T20 World Cup, diminished the significance of the Champions Trophy. There were also discussions about scrapping the tournament following the 2013 and 2017 editions. In fact, in 2018, the ICC opted to replace the 2021 tournament with a T20 World Cup, resulting in no Champions Trophy that year.

However, as part of its plan to host an ICC event every year, the Champions Trophy has been re-instantiated. It will be held quadrennially from 2025 onwards in the intervening years of the ODI World Cup—ensuring continuity in ODI format ICC tournaments. Teams ending in the top 8 of the recently concluded ODI World Cup will qualify for the championship.

While the tournament's current significance seems uncertain, its revival does bring nostalgia for the fans and a chance to prove a point for the teams. After all, it is the only ICC Trophy won by South Africa to date, was the only ICC trophy won by New Zealand till 2021, and a cherishing 2013 and 2017 victories for India and Pakistan respectively.

CT Winners

Year - Host - Winner

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1998 - Bangladesh - South Africa

2000 - Kenya - New Zealand

2002 - Sri Lanka - India, Sri Lanka (Joint Winners)

2004 - England - West Indies

2006 - India - Australia

2009 - South Africa - Australia

2013 - England & Wales - India

2017 - England & Wales - Pakistan

Did You Know?

• The idea of the Champions Trophy was coined by Jagmohan Dalmiya, the spiritual father of modern Indian cricket administration.

• There were two finals attempted in the 2002 Champions Trophy due to rain and yet both ended in a no result. Eventually, the title was shared between India and Sri Lanka.

• Australia dominated the 2006 Champions Trophy but left a controversial mark at the end during the trophy ceremony. Ricky Ponting's gestures to ask the then BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, to hurry the trophy handover process, followed by his team members' guiding Pawar off the stage, was not well received by either the BCCI, fans, or the media.

• The ICC had announced before the 2013 Champions Trophy that this would be the last edition, and then again before the 2017. Ironically, as of February 2025, at least two more editions are set to be played—2025 and 2029.

• Only India and Australia have won more than one Champions Trophy titles - 2.

• India and West Indies hold the record for most consecutive wins for a team in Champions Trophy - 7.