Delhi: These days ICC Champions Trophy is in news a lot, interestingly neither due to any publicity from ICC nor due to the question that who will become champion this time? Will Team India go to Pakistan to play in Champions Trophy – this question is giving a lot of discussion to this tournament. In this affair no one is paying attention that what is this tournament and why are they not playing it regularly?
Between 1998 and 2006, 5 tournaments were played – once every two years. Believe me, not even once was it played without controversy and the biggest issue was that what is the need of this tournament in the already packed cricket calendar? Even then it was played but after 2006 it became irregular – played after 3 years in 2009, after that the next two tournaments after 4 years each and reached 2017 while the truth is that every time there was a hint from ICC not to play it. After 2013, it was even announced not to be played. Even then it did not stop.

Pakistan became the champion in 2017 and since then they have been the champions in this, meaning they did not play it after that. It was to be played in India in 2021. Even when that tournament was cancelled, they could not pay 'tribute' to it and now it is returning again in 2025. It has even been decided that the next Champions Trophy tournament of 2029 will be played in India. Now the biggest question is why was it not played after 2017?

Actually, the criticism of the tournament immediately gained momentum. Ravi Shastri started it and before the 2017 tournament, he said that the importance of the ODI Cup is decreasing due to the Champions Trophy. The ICC has so many events of its own that there is no need to play it. He did not see any future for this one more ODI tournament after 5 years and clearly said that the playing of 50 over cricket will decrease. To some extent, his words have been proved right and T20 cricket has dominated ODI cricket. It has also become difficult to decide that 'who is the world champion in cricket at this time'?

The BCCI was talking about not playing it since 2006. For them, hosting it was a 'loss-making deal' – this tournament took away the better days of the season and all the earnings went to the ICC, whereas during those days India could have earned more money by playing a series of one or two teams. The ICC decided that the 2013 tournament would be the last and the World Test Championship would be played in its place in 2017, but when there was no support for the Test Championship, they again returned to the Champions Trophy in 2017. The first World Test Championship tournament which was to be played in 2017 was canceled in January 2014 itself and the result was that the Champions Trophy was played in 2017.
after that however

In October 2017, the ICC agreed on a Test League between the top 9 teams in a two-year round. The first tournament was in 2019-21 which started with the 2019 Ashes series. Despite Covid, the first final was played in June 2021. The 2021–23 World Test Championship started the same year. Along with this, the ICC completely changed the cricket calendar after 2017. Two World T20 World Cups were included in the four-year round. This meant that the Champions Trophy got caught in the crowd of events and it could not be organized in India in 2021.

It is being brought back in 2025 although there is still a rush for the tournament. You can get an idea of ​​the situation from the fact that three T20 World Cups have been played between 2021 and 2024. That is why there is still no proper place for the Champions Trophy in the cricket calendar, but in the desire to earn money, the ICC is bringing it back again in 2025.