29 October,2023 07:29 PM IST | Lucknow | mid-day online correspondent
India`s Kuldeep Yadav (Pic: AFP)
Following the end of the league stage of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, the top seven sides will directly qualify for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy along with hosts Pakistan to compete in the eight-team event.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the ICC Board approved the qualification system for the 2025 Champions Trophy in 2021, when the tournament was brought back.
For the 2013 and 2017 editions of the Champions Trophy, the top eight teams in the ODI rankings qualified for the event.
The decision to have the top seven teams at this World Cup for the 2025 Champions Trophy was approved originally by the ICC's chief executives committee following which the ICC Board made the recommendation effective.
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ESPNcricinfo's sources said that many cricket boards were surprised after the news came out in the limelight. Many said that they were unaware of the qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy being at stake in this tournament.
Following the new qualification rules, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland will not take part in the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy for not being able to make it into the ongoing ODI World Cup in India.
Following Bangladesh's loss against the Netherlands in the ODI World Cup 2023, Shakib Al Hasan made comments referencing the Champions Trophy in a press conference, that is when the news of the new qualification rules came to light.
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At the pre-match press conference on Saturday, Shakib spoke of the importance of finishing in the top eight. "I mean, not the semi-final hope. It is not a semi-final possibility," Shakib said after Bangladesh were beaten by the Netherlands as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed several global events for both men and women in the new 2024-31 cycle, which includes two new editions of the Champions Trophy in 2025 and 2029.
ICC said that the Champions Trophy would be an eight-team event and the tournament structure "will follow previous editions with two groups of four, semi-finals and final."
One Full Member of the board confirmed that the qualification pathways for all the events were discussed and approved at the 2021 ICC meetings.
For the 2027 men's ODI World Cup, which will be a 14-team tournament co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, the qualification process is the two Full Member hosts - South Africa and Zimbabwe - plus eight highest-ranked teams as of March 31, 2027, and four remaining teams through global qualifier tournaments.
(With inputs from agencies)
