Why is the Champions Trophy called the Mini World Cup?

Almost every year, ICC conducts tournaments in which the best teams across the globe participate. These tournaments are the T20 World Cup, One Day World Cup, Test Championship  and Champions Trophy (formerly known as ICC KnockOut Trophy). Now, as per the event cycle, the next big event is the 2025 Champions Trophy which is scheduled in Pakistan. All the prominent teams will participate here and hence we as spectators will witness some good quality cricket. The preparations of all the contenders are going in full swing too. 

The Champions Trophy was first played in 1998 in Bangladesh and until 2006, it was held every two years but after that it was organized every 4 years. It is a 50 over tournament, where eight teams compete against each other in round robin and knock out format. Its qualification criteria is quite simple as top 8 teams in ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings are eligible to participate. However, between 2002 and 2004, 12 teams played a round robin tournament in four pools of three with each top team moving to semi finals.

The Champions Trophy is called the mini World Cup because it is similar to it but slightly shorter. The number of participating teams are also narrowed down. In 2025, there will be 15 matches in total, with the tournament lasting for two and a half weeks. 

Past records in Champions Trophy 

Current Champion: Pakistan 

Most successful teams: Australia and India two each

Most runs: Chris Gayle (West Indies) (791 runs)

Most wickets: Kyle Mills (New Zealand)(28)

Highest partnership: Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting (252)

Most runs in a tournament: Chris Gayle (474)

Best bowling figures: Farveez Maharoof (Sri Lanka) (6/14)

Most catches: Mahela Jayawardene (15)

Highest team total: New Zealand V United States (347/4)

Lowest team total: United States V Australia (65)

Winners of Champions Trophy 

Prediction of India’s performance and squad in Champions Trophy 

The Indian team will be high on confidence as they will have a strong footing in the upcoming Champions Trophy. For the past 2-3 years, the current lot of players are doing extremely well in all formats of the game and they will be carrying the same momentum in 2025 as well. This bunch did extremely well under head coach Rahul Dravid but, the think tank will be slightly different this time as Gautam Gambhir and Co will be taking all the important calls. 

A strong Indian team is expected to land in Pakistan and they will be putting all their effort to replicate their 2024 form there. 

A solid and packed team will be picked by the selectors. Moreover, the conditions in Pakistan will be a lot more similar to that of India and hence it will give an edge to us. Subcontinent conditions provide extra support to spinners and our team is well equipped to tackle that of the opponents.