From Shahid Afridi
After 29 years an ICC mega event returns to Pakistan as the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy commences today at the National Stadium in Karachi. Despite India’s traditional reluctance the tournament is set to begin with the opening match between hosts Pakistan and New Zealand. Matches will be held across multiple venues, three games each at the National Stadium in Karachi and Rawalpindi Stadium while five matches are conditionally scheduled at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore and Dubai International Stadium. The semi-finals and final will only be played in Dubai if India qualifies otherwise only three group matches will be held there.
The tournament features eight teams divided into two groups Group A consists of Pakistan, India, New Zealand and Bangladesh while Group B includes Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan. Afghanistan is making its debut in the Champions Trophy.
The tournament has been hosted three times in England while Bangladesh, Kenya, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa have each hosted it once. Pakistan’s squad for the tournament will be led by wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and includes key players such as Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Fakhar Zaman who scored a century against India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final makes his comeback.
However the selection of the squad has sparked criticism particularly over the inclusion of Faheem Ashraf who has neither recent performances nor a strong record to justify his selection. Similarly Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Hasnain have failed to impress and their inclusion has raised doubts. Imam-ul-Haq who was initially picked for the West Indies series was dropped without getting a chance. Many argue that Imam should have replaced Khushdil while Irfan Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem or Sajid Khan should have been preferred over Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Hasnain given the spin-friendly conditions in Dubai and Pakistan. With this squad Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals seem slim as evident from their poor performance in the tri-series against New Zealand where they lost both a group match and the final.
Looking at the history of the Champions Trophy the highest team total in the tournament belongs to New Zealand who scored 347/4 against the USA on September 10, 2004, at The Oval.
The second-highest total was Pakistan’s 338/4 against India in the 2017 final also at The Oval. The lowest total record belongs to the USA who were bowled out for 65 against Australia on September 13, 2004, in Southampton. Bangladesh holds the second-lowest total having been dismissed for 77 against New Zealand on September 23, 2002, in Colombo.
The highest individual score in a single innings belongs to New Zealand’s NJ Astle who scored an unbeaten 145 against the USA on September 10, 2004. Among Pakistani players Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman and Saeed Anwar have scored centuries in the tournament with Saeed Anwar achieving this feat twice.
The leading run-scorer in Champions Trophy history is West Indies’ Chris Gayle who scored 791 runs in 17 matches between 2002 and 2013 at an average of 52.73 with a highest score of 133. He is followed by Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene who scored 742 runs in 22 matches from 2002 to 2013, averaging 41.22.
The highest wicket-taker in the tournament is New Zealand’s KD Mills, who claimed 28 wickets in 15 matches between 2002 and 2013, averaging 17.25, with best bowling figures of 4/30. Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga is second on the list with 25 wickets in 16 matches between 2006 and 2017, with best figures of 4/34.
The ICC Champions Trophy is a quadrennial ODI cricket tournament organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was first held as the ICC KnockOut Trophy in 1998 and was initially played every two years. In 2002, it was rebranded as the ICC Champions Trophy and later became a four-yearly event from 2009 onwards. In 2016, the ICC announced the cancellation of future Champions Trophy editions with the 2017 tournament serving as the last major event in this format. However in November 2021 the ICC revised its international calendar and reinstated the Champions Trophy from 2025 onwards.
Over the past 27 years the Champions Trophy has been played eight times producing multiple different winners. South Africa won the inaugural tournament in 1998, followed by New Zealand in 2000. In 2002, India and Sri Lanka were declared joint winners after the final and reserve day were washed out. The fourth edition in 2004 saw West Indies emerge victorious. –FP
