The Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan and UAE from February 19. This ICC tournament, which is held every 4 years, is being played again after 8 years. In 2029, this tournament will be played in India. However, it is not clear whether this 50-over tournament will be played or not.
In Icc Champions Trophy Part 2 we will find out…
- 4 reasons why organizing a tournament after 2029 looks difficult
- 5 reasons why there will be no tournament in 2021
- What is the reason for starting again after 8 years?
- When and why did the Champions Trophy start?
- All ICC tournaments until 2031
1. 4 reasons why it will be difficult to hold a tournament after 2029 :-
A. The popularity of ODI matches has declined.
In the last 10 years, the viewership and popularity of ODIs has declined due to the T20 team and its popularity. In these 10 years, 420 Tests and 1250 ODIs were played, but 2668 T20s were played. While in the 10 years from 2005 to 2014, only 412 T20s were played, 119 more ODIs were played in this decade. The number of Tests did not change much.
With the advent of T20, many smaller teams also started playing cricket. Till 2014, only 20 teams were playing this format, but in the last 10 years, 105 teams have become a part of it. On the other hand, the number of teams playing ODI has been 23 for the last 20 years. This means that the growth of this format has come to a standstill. The ICC Champions Trophy is played in only 50-over format, so its discontinuation is more likely.
B. ICC was to discontinue the Champions Trophy
After the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, the ICC had planned to start the T20 Champions Cup instead of the ODI tournament. A tournament similar to the T20 World Cup would be played between the top 8 teams. In 2021, a new format could not be agreed upon, so it was not organized. However, the ICC then scheduled the Champions Trophy in the 50-over format for 2025 and 2029.
The number of teams in the T20 World Cup has now increased from 12 to 20, with many smaller teams doing well in this format. Also, T-20 cricket will also be included in the Olympics from 2028. In which only 8 teams will play. In such a situation, the ICC Champions Trophy has not come up with a separate T20 Champions Cup for the top 8 teams and there is little hope of its coming.
C. Difficult to get windows due to T-20
The Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched in 2008, the world’s first ICC Champions Trophy-sanctioned franchise tournament. In 2011, Australia launched its own franchise tournament, the Big Bash League (BBL). Bangladesh in 2012, West Indies in 2013 and Pakistan in 2016 also launched their own franchise tournaments.
Till 2016, only 4-5 countries were organising franchise tournaments, but by 2025 almost every major cricket board has started it. In the last 5 years, South Africa, UAE, England, Sri Lanka, Canada, Nepal and America have brought their franchise tournaments. In which many big international stars play.
The cricket schedule has become hectic due to the flood of franchise cricket in 10 to 12 countries. Due to this, it is becoming difficult to find time for ICC tournaments. Due to the busy schedule, the ICC Champions Trophy could not be organized in 2021. Now the ever-growing T-20 cricket can be a big reason for the end of the Champions Trophy.
D. Pressure from broadcasters
For the boards organising sports tournaments, TV and online viewers have now become more important than spectators in stadiums as they are the only source of revenue. Broadcasters and sponsors are willing to pay big bucks.
Broadcasters have also found that a single T20 match attracts more viewers than an entire ODI and Test series. For this reason, T20 cricket also gets more advertising. That is why broadcasters are pressuring the ICC and other cricket boards to organise more and more T20 matches.
For this reason, the Champions Trophy was also planned to be held in T-20 format, but the BCCI refused to change the format. It was because of the broadcasters that India’s matches in the 2024 T20 World Cup were held during the day. Now the broadcasters are saying that if the tournament is held after 2029, it should be 20-20 overs. If the ICC Champions Trophy accepts their demands, it is difficult to stop the tournament.
2 :- Reason for starting again after 8 years
In 2021 and 2023, two finals of the WTC, which replaced the Champions Trophy, were played, but the ICC did not earn as much as before from the Champions Trophy. The ICC earns from every tournament it plays. Especially in tournaments where India plays a match against Pakistan. Then all the records of earnings and viewership are broken.
India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series against each other since 2013. The two only face each other in multinational tournaments. The audience wants to watch India-Pakistan matches, and the ICC is taking advantage of this hunger of the audience. The board earns more from the matches between the two teams every year than from all the matches of other teams combined. This income also funds associate countries.
3 :- When and why did the Champions Trophy start?
In 1998, former ICC and BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya started a tournament called the Knockout Trophy. Smaller countries like Bangladesh and Kenya were initially given the hosting rights to generate revenue for cricket there. The tournament grew in popularity and was also held in countries like the West Indies, England, India and South Africa.
From 1998 to 2006, this tournament was played every two years. Since 2009, this tournament has been held every four years. This was done because the Icc Champions Trophy T20 World Cup also started in 2007, which is held once every two years. It was decided from the T20 World Cup itself that some ICC men’s tournament would be held every year.
The T20 World Cup started being held every two years. While the ICC Champions Trophy and the ODI World Cup are held once in four years. After 2009, the Champions Trophy was played in 2013 and 2017. Now after 2025, this tournament will be held in 2029.
4 :- All ICC tournaments until 2031
The Champions Trophy was considered to be permanently cancelled in 2021, but the ICC Champions Trophy has reinstated the tournament in its future schedule. Pakistan has been awarded the hosting rights for the tournament in 2025 and India in 2029, ensuring that the next tournament will take place.
The ICC Champions Trophy is starting from February 19. The world’s top 8 ODI teams, including India, will participate in this, but which team is the strongest among them? We will know the answer to this question in the Champions Trophy Series Part-1. We have decided on 6 parameters to identify the strongest team.