ICC names Shikhar Dhawan & 3 others as Champions Trophy Ambassador
Sport
6 min read
The world cricket governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), has appointed former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan as one of the four ambassadors of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. The 9th ICC Men’s Champions Trophy is being co-hosted by Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 19 February -9 March 2025.
Four Ambassadors of the ChampionsTrophy 2025
The four ambassadors of the 2025 Champions Trophy are Shikhar Dhawan of India, Sarfraz Ahmed of Pakistan, Shane Watson of Australia, and New Zealand’s legendary fast bowler, Tim Southee.
- Shikhar Dhawan, who recently retired from international cricket, was the Player of the Series of the 2103 edition of the Champions Trophy, won by India.
- Shane Watson was part of the Australian team that won the Champions Trophy twice in 2006 and 2009
- Sarfraz Ahmad was part of the Pakistan side, which won the 2017 edition of the Champions Trophy.
About the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
The 9th edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is being co-hosted by Pakistan and the UAE.
Initially, Pakistan was to host the Champions Trophy alone, but due to the refusal of the Indian Team to visit Pakistan, Indian matches were shifted to UAE, and UAE was made the co-host of the tournament.
Since 2008, after the terror attack in Mumbai, the Indian cricket team has not visited Pakistan.
India will play all its group matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, UAE. One of the semifinals will be held in Dubai, and if India qualifies, then it will play its semi-final match in Dubai.
The final will be played in Dubai if India qualifies for the final. Otherwise, it will be held in Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan.
Venue in Pakistan
- In Pakistan, the matches will be held in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.
- One semi-final will be played in Lahore, and it will also host the finals if India fails to qualify.
Teams and Format
Eight teams are participating in the Champions Trophy 2025.
The top seven teams in the previous ICC ODI World Cup and the host country play in the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan, as the host, automatically qualified for the Trophy.
If the host country is among those seven, then the eighth gets in, as is the case with Bangladesh this time.
The eight-team has been divided into two groups:
Group A: Pakistan, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh
Group B: South Africa, Afghanistan, England and Australia.
The top two teams from the two groups will qualify for the semi-finals.
The Champions trophy is being played in the 50 overs format of the ODI.
History of the ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy was started by the ICC as the Wills International Cup in 1998. In the 2nd edition, the name was changed to the ICC Knock-Out Trophy in 2000.
In the third edition held in 2002, the name was changed to Champions Trophy.
The credit for starting the Champions Trophy is given to Jagmohan Dalmiya of India. The main aim of the Trophy was to raise funds to popularise and develop the game in non-test playing countries of the world.
However, later on, with the popularity of the T-20 format, the very existence of the Champions Trophy is in doubt.
Australia and India have won the Champions Trophy twice.
Here is the list of the winners, venues, and runners-up of the Champions Trophy held so far.
|
Edition |
Year |
Host Country |
Winner |
Runners Up |
Participant Countries |
|
1 |
1998 |
Bangladesh |
South Africa |
West indies |
All 9 Test Playing countries |
|
2 |
2000 |
Kenya |
New Zealand |
India |
11 countries |
|
3 |
2002 |
Sri Lanka |
Shared between India and Sri Lanka due to rain. |
- |
12 |
|
4 |
2004 |
England |
West indies |
England |
12 |
|
5 |
2006 |
India |
Australia |
West Indies |
10 |
|
6 |
2009 |
South Africa |
Australia |
New Zealand |
8 |
|
7 |
2013 |
England and Wales |
India |
England |
8 |
|
8 |
2017 |
England and Wales |
Pakistan |
India |
8 |
|
9 |
2025 |
Pakistan and UAE |
- |
- |
8 |
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