The ICC Champions Trophy has been revived (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
It’s a question many pundits, probably even some weary tired players, have been asking ahead of what is the biggest global cricket event of the year.
Why – after eight years and with the 50-over format amid declining popularity – has the Champions Trophy been revived? Simply, money. It dates back to 2021 when the International Cricket Council announced its slate of men’s events for the 2024-31 cycle as it eyed a lucrative new media rights deal.
There were eyebrows raised when the Champions Trophy was resurrected for 2025 and 2029. Take a closer look and those are the only years where there aren’t 50-over or T20 World Cups during this cycle. Desperate for a marquee event every year, the Champions Trophy was dusted off and shoehorned into a cricket calendar that is struggling to breathe.
It was done primarily to add commercial appeal to Indian broadcasters, who largely bankroll the sport. A media rights deal for 2024-27 did net an eye-watering $3 billion, with almost 40 per cent of the share contentiously given to power India, but the Champions Trophy resurfacing has raised questions over its relevancy.
Pakistan are the defending champions (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Defending World Cup winners Australia, along with India, are the only multiple winners of the event but will enter the Champions Trophy with a shorthanded squad as several stars battling niggles will take a breather while veteran Marcus Stoinis decided to abruptly retire recently, perhaps signalling where the tournament stands among players.
Despite its name echoing showy events from counterparts, namely soccer, the Champions Trophy has never been a major deal in world cricket but it did have its moments back in quieter times. The tournament started in the heyday of the ODI format in 1998 and aimed to raise funds for the development of smaller cricket countries not part of the ICC’s Full Membership who get the lion’s share of funding.
It was played every two years until the Indian Premier League started in 2008 and changed cricket’s landscape forever as T20 leagues gradually started marking the calendar. The once highly popular 50-over format was marginalised despite the commercial appeal and nostalgia of the World Cup.
The Champions Trophy was played less frequently although its curtain seemingly memorably closed in 2017 when Pakistan thrashed foes India at the Oval in London. The tournament was scrapped after that, seemingly forever, until the authorities needed to find a global event other than a World Cup.
The latest edition will be played in Pakistan – and co-hosted in the UAE due to India not being allowed to travel to its neighbor – and there will be plenty of financial incentives for players to ease any apparent apathy.
The winner will receive $2.24 million and the runners-up $1.12 million. The total prize pot of $6.9 million is a 53% increase from the 2017 edition.
Fireworks light up the sky during the inauguration ceremony of the renovated Gaddafi Cricket Stadium … [+]
“The ICC men’s Champions Trophy 2025 represents a pivotal moment for cricket, reviving a tournament that highlights the pinnacle of ODI talent, where every match is critical,” said ICC chair Jay Shah, the all-powerful Indian administrator helming his first major event.
“The substantial prize pot underscores the ICC’s ongoing commitment to investing in the sport and maintaining the global prestige of our events.
“Beyond the financial incentive, this tournament ignites fierce competition, captivates fans worldwide, and plays a vital role in fostering the growth and long-term sustainability of cricket for future generations.”
Outside of South Asia, where anything even remotely related to cricket is obsessively followed, the tournament is unlikely to gain traction and destined to be forgotten much like its predecessors with many probably resorting to AI to recall the list of past winners.
But at least the tournament won’t be milked like World Cups, which stretch out for interminable lengths, with the final played on March 9 although its short nature is more to do with the new IPL season hot on its heels.
“Champions Trophy is a completely different challenge as compared to the 50-over World Cup because literally every game is a make-or-break, so you can’t stop anywhere in this tournament,” India coach Gautam Gambhir said.
“If you want to go on and win the competition, you have to win five games.”
