The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially announced the qualification scenario for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be hosted by Pakistan. According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, the top seven teams from the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, excluding Pakistan as they are the hosts, will secure their spots for the 2025 event.
This system for the qualification scenario was approved by the ICC Board in 2021 when the competition was reintroduced as an eight-team tournament to be held in the 2024-31 cycle. However, several team boards were not informed by the ICC that the qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy would be dependent on the results of the World Cup.
Consequently, teams such as Zimbabwe, Ireland, and West Indies, who failed to qualify for the World Cup, will not be able to participate in the eight-team tournament in 2025.
In November 2021, the ICC announced a series of global cricketing events for men and women in the 2024-31 cycle, including two editions of the Champions Trophy in 2025 and 2029. The previous two editions of the Champions Trophy in 2013 and 2017, won by India and Pakistan respectively, included the top-eight teams in the ICC ODI’s rankings.
Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the 2027 World Cup will be a 14-team tournament, co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. The qualification scenario for this event is that the top 8 ranked teams in the ICC rankings will qualify, with four teams making their way after playing global qualifier tournaments. Zimbabwe and South Africa will qualify as the hosts.
Despite being out of contention to qualify for the semi-final, Bangladesh’s skipper, Shakib Al Hasan, emphasized his intention to finish in the top 8. He stated, “At least, do a little better. Suppose, you have to be in the [top] ranking 8 if you want to play in the Champions Trophy. So, there are still three matches left considering that in mind.”
