Delhi, October 29: According to a source, the top seven teams from the Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 league stage in India would join hosts Pakistan in competing for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, an eight-team competition.
According to an ICC spokesman who talked with ESPNcricinfo, eight men’s global tournaments are slated to take place in 2024–2031; among them is the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which received clearance from the ICC Board in 2021.
The ICC first revealed a number of international competitions for men and women in the 2023–24 cycle, including the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025 and 2029. That was back in November of 2021.
“There would be an eight-team event, and the tournament structure will follow previous editions with two groups of four: semi-finals and finals,” the ICC said in a statement.
Due to the selection procedure, those Full Member countries—such as Zimbabwe, Ireland, and the West Indies—that did not make it to the 2023 ODI World Cup will not even be eligible to compete for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
But other cricket boards have acknowledged to ESPNcricinfo that they were not aware of the selection procedure, which prevented them from qualifying for the ODI World Cup.
Following remarks made by Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan at a press conference that alluded to the Champions Trophy and suggested that he was aware that qualification was on the line, the conversation around ICC Champions Trophy qualifying ignited.
The top eight teams in the ODI standings advanced to the Champions Trophy in both 2013 and 2017. It is understood that the decision to have the top seven teams at this World Cup for the 2025 Champions Trophy was originally approved by the ICC’s chief executives committee, following which the ICC Board passed the recommendation.
