The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy commences in mid-February, enabling us to look forward to a competition that was last contested in 2017.
In an attempt to reduce the volume of international events to one per format, the ICC ruled that the Cricket World Cup would be the sole ODI tournament and consequently removed the Champions Trophy from elite-level cricket’s bustling schedule. However, this decision was reversed in November 2021, as it was announced Pakistan would host the latest installment of the prestigious eight-team competition.
Due to ongoing political tensions between the host nation and India, Gautam Gambhir’s side will play all of their fixtures – regardless of how far they advance in the tournament – at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Therefore, the United Arab Emirates is technically a co-host.
With ICC ranking points and plenty of international pride at stake, all of the participating eight teams will relish the return of one of cricket’s most popular ODI events.
Overview:
Start date: Wednesday 19th February
Date of Final: Sunday 9th March
Location: Pakistan and Dubai (fixtures involving India only)
TV Channels: Sky Sports – exclusive broadcaster for the UK
Last winner: Pakistan
Prize Pot: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have a hosting budget of $70m. Prize pot stands at $6.9m
Stadiums & Host Cities:
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Capacity: 34,000
Opened: 1959
Karachi National Stadium – Karachi
Capacity: 30,000
Opened: 1955
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium – Rawalpindi
Capacity: 20,000
Opened: 1992
Dubai International Cricket Stadium – Dubai
Capacity: 25,000
Opened: 2009
Teams: favourites, odds, past records
All eight participants qualified for this year’s ICC Champions Trophy by virtue of their performance in the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Two previous winners won’t be in attendance in Pakistan, with 2002 joint champions Sri Lanka and 2004 conquerors West Indies failing to qualify. Debutants Afghanistan are amongst the contenders, having registered four wins during an impressive third World Cup appearance.
We review each team’s chances of securing the ICC Champions Trophy this Spring, reflecting on the participants recent major tournament record.
Afghanistan: Habitual underdogs Afghanistan rub shoulders with cricket’s elite forces once again, as they seek to continue their upwards trajectory. The Atalans took some major scalps at the last World Cup, overcoming England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands on Indian soil.
Although eight points wasn’t enough to secure progression to the semi-final stage, Afghanistan will have gained major confidence from a hugely-impressive campaign. The tournament’s dark horses?
To win: 16/1
Australia: Despite failing to progress out of the group stage in each of the last two ICC Champions Trophy meetings, Australia won 2006 and 2009 editions in India and South Africa respectively. The bookmakers have placed the reigning World Cup champions as second-favourites to emerge triumphant in Pakistan, but two disappointing ODI defeats to Sri Lanka in recent weeks may have dented the Aussies’ momentum.
To win: 4/1
Bangladesh: Surprise semi-finalists last time out, Bangladesh delivered their best-ever ICC Champions Trophy performance in 2017. Considered rank outsiders this time round after incurring a disappointing sequence of ODI results, the Tigers arrive in Pakistan with nothing to lose.
Few would back Bangladesh to make an impact, but the 2015 World Cup quarter-finalists could nevertheless be worth a punt at a steep price.
To win: 100/1
England: Having struggled to re-capture the form that saw them clinch the World Cup in dramatic fashion six years ago, England will be desperate to win some silverware this Spring. The Three Lions have enjoyed relative recent success in this competition, although undoubtedly benefited from playing each of their last nine ICC Champions Trophy fixtures on home turf as hosts.
Although England have never previously won the competition, Jos Buttler’s men are among the favourites to go all the way in Pakistan; could 2025 be the year?
To win: 6/1
India: After being convincingly defeated by Pakistan in the final of the last ICC Champions Trophy, India are out to seek revenge. Given the current political climate, the group stage fixture between these fierce foes – and any subsequent matches to follow – will see the hosts travel across the Persian Gulf to face the Men in Blue in Dubai.
It’s been over a decade since India clinched a major ODI trophy, so Rohit Sharma & co are under pressure to perform. Nevertheless, the bookmakers have positioned two-time World Cup winners as red-hot favourites.
To win: 7/4
New Zealand: Almost 25 years has passed since New Zealand edged India in Nairobi to become ICC KnockOut Trophy (the previous guise of the ICC Champions Trophy) winners, yet the Kiwis have been unable to re-capture their title since. After losing to continental rivals Australia in the 2009 showpiece, the New Zealanders failed to advance from the group stages in the seventh and eight editions of the competition.
Nevertheless, having recently beaten Pakistan and South Africa to secure a landmark ODI Tri-Nation series title, new skipper Mitchell Santner will be buoyed by his team’s recent outputs. Do they have the potential to spring a surprise?
To win: 15/2
Pakistan: Eight years on from recording the biggest-ever margin of victory in an ICC ODI final, Pakistan enter the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy with a point to prove. Having exited the last two World Cups at the conclusion of the group stages and still find themselves behind bitter rivals India in the ODI Rankings, the Falcons will be expecting to at least reach the latter stages.
Expected to be willed on by an immensely boisterous and partisan crowd (at least for all of their fixtures on native soil), Mohammad Rizwan's men have a real opportunity to retain thier title. It would take a brave person to bet against them….
To win: 7/1
South Africa: Since defeating a talented West Indies outfit in the inaugural final of the ICC Champions Trophy, South Africa have been eliminated in the semi-final stages of the competition on four separate occasions. Having suffered the same fate in two of the last three World Cups, the Proteas will be desperate to advance beyond the last four in the coming weeks.
Two narrow defeats in the recent Pakistan Tri-Nation series has somewhat undermined their preparations, but the ICC’s sixth-ranked side will undoubtedly pose a threat to the tournament favourites.
To win: 7/1
Schedule
A total of 15 matches will be contested across four venues, with Pakistan entertaining New Zealand in the tournament opener on Wednesday 19th February. The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy concludes just over a fortnight later, after 12 group stage contests and two semi-final encounters play out.
The finalists are scheduled to lock horns in Lahore on Sunday 9th March, although the location of this fixture will be switched to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium if India are still in the competition.
Full schedule:
Group A
February 19: Pakistan vs New Zealand (Karachi National Stadium)
February 20: Bangladesh vs India (Dubai International Cricket Stadium)
February 23: Pakistan vs India (Dubai International Cricket Stadium)
February 24: Bangladesh vs New Zealand (Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium)
February 27: Pakistan vs Bangladesh (Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium)
March 2: New Zealand vs India (Dubai International Cricket Stadium)
Group B
February 21: Afghanistan vs South Africa (Karachi National Stadium)
February 22: Australia vs England (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore)
February 25: Australia vs South Africa (Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium)
February 26: Afghanistan vs England (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore)
February 28: Afghanistan vs Australia (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore)
Mar 1: South Africa vs England (Karachi National Stadium)
Semi-finals
March 4: Semi-final 1 (Dubai International Cricket Stadium)
March 5: Semi-final 2 (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore)
Final
March 9: Final (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore or (Dubai International Cricket Stadium)
Complete list of fixtures, results and standings on Flashscore.
Where to watch the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy
UK viewers can watch all 15 fixtures on Sky Sports, with live coverage provided on Sky Sport Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event. The tournament is sure to attract a huge global audience, as cricket fans tune in to the action from around the world. Broadcasting rights have been purchased by a number of international satellite channels and streaming platforms, and therefore spectators from all of the world can witness events in Pakistan (and Dubai) unfold.
Full list of licensed broadcasters
Pakistan – PTV and Ten Sports
India (viewers in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives can access a linear feed) – Disney Star
Bangladesh – TSM
Middle East & North Africa – E&
Sky Sports – United Kingdom
Sub-Saharan Africa – SuperSport
North America – Willow
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
Australia – Amazon
New Zealand – Sky TV NZ
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Afghanistan – Ariana TV
Papua New Guinea – PNG Digicel
Prize Money
The International Cricket Council recently announced that the tournament's prize pot will be $6.9m, a substantial 53% hike on funds distributed during the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
The eight teams that qualified for the previous edition of the competition shared a total prize pool of $4.5m (up $500,00 on 2013), with winners Pakistan receiving $2.2m for their efforts.
Tournament history: formats, winners, and hosts
Only six nations have lifted the ICC Champions Trophy throughout its 27-year history, with Australia and India the only two teams to triumph on more than one occasion. The ECB have been awarded hosting duties more times than any other national cricket board, staging the tournament in 2004, 2013, and 2017.
The first two editions of the competition were staged under the ‘ICC KnockOut Trophy’ banner, but this name was later dropped as part of a comprehensive re-brand in 2002. The number of participants has fluctuated over the years, peaking at twelve and dipping lowest to its current quota of eight teams. Between the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1998 and its sixth instalment in 2009, the ICC Champions Trophy was a biennial event. However, following Australia’s triumph in South Africa, it was agreed the competition would only take place once every four years.
In 2017, cricket’s global governing body cancelled the tournament indefinitely after deciding to further streamline the international calendar. This decision was reversed in 2021, as the ICC unveiled plans to commission a ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025. In November 2021, it was confirmed Pakistan would stage the returning competition, a month after being unveiled as co-hosts of the 2023 ACC Asia Cup.
Formats - qualifying
The ICC Champions Trophy has embraced several formats since its inception in 1998, with varying qualification criteria also deployed.
The first five editions of the tournament (up to 2006) saw invites consistently extended to the main test playing nations, with remaining places occupied by winners of minor championships such as the ICC Trophy (supporting the Netherlands’ qualification route in 2002) and the ICC Six Nations Challenge (facilitating the United States’ solitary appearance in 2024).
From 2009 until 2017, those occupying the highest positions in the international ODI rankings would secure a tournament berth. However, the qualifying pathway changes again this year, as only the strongest seven performing teams from the most recent World Cup – alongside tournament-organisers Pakistan – will compete in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Although the absence of a national test team resulted in Bangladesh being unable to compete on home soil in 1998, all other hosts have been granted automatic qualification.
Formats - main tournament
A total of nine teams qualified for the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy, with seven nations afforded a bye to the quarter finals. The remaining two participants – lowest seeds Zimbabwe and New Zealand – would battle for an opportunity to face Sri Lanka in the last eight. After the Kiwis triumphed in the preliminary round, three direct knockout rounds would determine the inaugural winner of the competition. South Africa would overcome the West Indies at Dhaka’s Bangabandhu National Stadium to claim this honour.
The next edition of the tournament followed an identical format, but the expansion to eleven teams resulted in a six-team preliminary stage. India, Sri Lanka, and England would safely navigate their respective ties to meet the five highest-ranked nations in the quarter-finals.
An additional qualification slot was added for both the 2002 and 2004 competitions, resulting in the newly-branded ICC Champions Trophy adopting a group stage phase. The twelve competing teams were divided into three groups of four, before a round robin series would determine the winner of each pool. These four teams then advanced to the final stages of the tournament.
Although a preliminary round was re-instated in 2006, this pre-tournament qualifier would take shape as a mini group stage contest. Sri Lanka and the West Indies secured a place in the ‘official’ group stages, finishing ahead of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. The top two from each pool progressed to the last four, before Australia were crowned champions following a thrilling final in Mumbai.
From 2009 onwards, the ICC Champions Trophy has no longer included a preliminary round phase.
Each tournament has featured eight teams, who have been initially split into two groups of four. The top two teams from each group advance to the last four of the competition. We’ll see this format utilised in Pakistan this Spring.
Previous winners & hosts
2017
Winners: Pakistan
Hosts: England (& Wales)
2013
Winners: India
Hosts: England (& Wales)
2009
Winners: Australia
Hosts: South Africa