In 1998, ICC changed the name of Knockout Tournament to Champions Trophy. It is played in 50- over format. The first tournament was played in 1998 and was continued to be played and held after every alternative year. But the format of Champions Trophy gradually kept changing over the period of time.
Since, the beginnings of the tournament in 2009 & till present it is been played in every fourth coming year. England & Wales hosted the latest edition in 2017. Current champions are Pakistan. International Cricket Council (ICC) has all the rights to perform the tournaments. ICC is an International Organisation who looks after the management and smooth conduct of tournaments under their Governance.
It has the Day International (ODI) format. The main motive of ICC behind conducting this tournament was to generate funds for the development of the game in the non-test playing countries. The countries which are not able to get the proper infrastructure and environment to showcase their skills and talent.
As there are many countries with lots of talented players but due to weak financial support, they are not able to come forward, rather ICC is helping those nations. ICC is helping them by providing funds for the development.
The first tournaments were held in Bangladesh & Kenya, after getting the massive success, then the tournaments were held in countries like India & England for generating more and more revenue from the tournaments.
These all events gather more and more fun, for the development of the cricketing community. Each & every player comes with a good motivation of achieving the good records and achieve something for its Nation so, that its Nation should also feel proud. Cricket is a game which shows great team work and co-ordination amongst every player.
Format of the Tournament
There is a difference between the format of the Knockout Tournament and the Champions Trophy. The format of the Champions Trophy differs from the format of the World Cup. Earlier, it was planned as a knockout tournament, to keep it short and didn’t affect the status of the World Cup.
In 1998, only eight games were played and ten games in 2000 because it was knocked out matches, loser gets evicted after losing. But from 2002, the round-robin format was initiated, with very few knock-out matches and still, the series gets over within 2-3 weeks. The tournament takes place over a short period.
Initially, the Champions trophy was started in the year 1998 and was conducted every alternate year. Whereas they hold the World Cup every fourth year. In the year 2008, it was planned to be held in Pakistan, but because of some security matter, it got canceled and moved to South Africa and played in the year 2009. The schedule for Champions Trophy was changed and to be played in every 4th year.
Champions Trophy is a short format and takes 2-3 weeks and gets concluded and if we compare it with World Cup Tournament, it takes a much longer time period. The number of teams participating in the Champions Trophy is lesser than the teams in the World Cup.
The format of the Tournament kept changing over year on year. Cricket matches wethers the World Cup or Champions Trophy, show the good enthusiasm amongst each team member. Since 2006, a total of eight teams took part, and there are 2 pools and 4 teams in each group.
The losers are evicted from the pool. A total of fifteen matches are played in the current format of the tournament. Thirteen teams took part in the year 2013 series, whereas in the 2017 series only eight teams took part.
ICC Champions Trophy: Results and Awards
The number of teams participating has fluctuated over the years initially. All the ICC members competed from 2000 to 2004. In 2009, there are only eight teams in the ICC one-day international six months prior to the beginning of the tournament.
The matches have been held in seven different countries in which England hosted it thrice. The number of teams competing kept on changing year after year. A total of thirteen teams participated in the year 2013 series, whereas in the 2017 series only eight teams took part.
The first Champions Trophy match was held in 1998 in Bangladesh and South Africa won the event. 2000 tournament was hosted by Kenya and New Zealand won the edition. In 2002, Sri Lanka was the host country, and the tournament was won jointly by India and Sri Lanka.
In 2004, a tournament was played in England and the West Indies won the series. In 2006, India was the host country, and the tournament was won by Australia. The 2009 edition was played in South Africa and Australia won the edition.
The 2013 tournament was hosted by England & Wales and the winner was India. They held the latest Champions tournament in 2017 in England & Wales and won by Pakistan. India will host the upcoming tournament in 2021 and the dates for the same have not been finalized yet.
Each player comes to the field, whether it’s a batsman, all-rounder, or bowler with full confidence and good presence of mind. Every countryman who takes part for themselves and for their Nation has the motive of achieving the good record and making their Nation proud. Cricket is all about teamwork and coordination amongst each other.
Most Tournament runs made till the latest tournament is Shikhar Dhawan– 795 runs. Kyle Mills took the highest number of wickets in the tournament (28 wickets). India and Australia have won the title twice. After the end of every tournament and series, there is a post-match presentation.
In which they regarded at its best and given the awards for the same so, that they should really feel the confidence in them with more and more zeal for the future matches.
This presentation keeps players motivated and respectful. Many other players have worked really hard and their hard work has made their name famous worldwide.
Cricket is such a game in which players show good enthusiasm amongst themselves. Every team member and the player tries to put their best performance on their team and for their respective nations.
Interesting Facts about the ICC Champions Trophy:-
1. Australia wins the ICC champions trophy two times for the years 2006 and 2009.
2. West Indies, India, and England teams have lost two finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.
3. England, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Ireland, and Afghanistan teams have not won a single ICC Champions Trophy.
4. Sri Lanka was the first and only team that has a host and wins this tournament in 2002.
5. The Indian team holds the highest victory percentage (70%) in the ICC Champions Trophy.
6. Zimbabwe has lost all played 9 matches.
7. Chris Gayle (West Indies) holds the highest number of record runs (791) in the ICC Champions Trophy.
8. Nathan Astle (New Zealand) holds the highest individual score (145*) in the ICC Champions Trophy.
9. Kyle Mills (New Zealand) holds the highest record wickets take (28) in the Champions Trophy.
10. The winning team gets $2.2 million and the runner-up gets $1.1 million in the 2017 year edition of ICC Champions Trophy.
