ICC Champions Trophy
Updated: Wikipedia source
The ICC Champions Trophy, formerly known as the ICC KnockOut Trophy, is an international One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and contested by international men's teams. Inaugurated in 1998, the Champions Trophy was established by the ICC as a short cricket tournament to raise funds for the development of the game in non-Test playing countries, contrasting with the mainstream Cricket World Cup, which had, at the time, existed for 23 years with six completed editions. The first Champions Trophy was organised in Bangladesh in June 1998 and the next edition was held in Kenya in October 2000. These nations – both ICC Associate members – were chosen as hosts to increase the popularity of cricket and then use the funds collected for the continued development of the sport in those countries. From the 2002 tournament onwards, hosting has been shared between countries under an unofficial rotation system, with six ICC members having hosted at least one match in the tournament. The current format involves a qualification phase, which takes place in the preceding edition of the Cricket World Cup, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase. The top eight ranked teams in the World Cup (including the hosts of the Champions Trophy) secure a berth for the tournament. So far, a total of fourteen teams have competed in the nine editions of the tournament. India (2002, 2013, 2025), who is the current champion after winning the 2025 edition, is the most successful team with three titles; Australia (2006, 2009) has won it twice; while South Africa (1998), New Zealand (2000), Sri Lanka (2002), West Indies (2004) and Pakistan (2017) have won it once each. The 2002 edition was shared between India and Sri Lanka after the final ended in a no-result due to rain.