As the ICC Champions Trophy resurfaces in Pakistan this week, nearly eight years since the last one, folks will be forgiven for a few double takes, for feeling a bit like Ian Wright reuniting with his old teacher in that lovely viral clip, jaw dropped to the floor and gasping: “You’re alive!
The International Cricket Council and the broadcaster Star even pondered converting it into a T20 at one stage, only to be swayed by concerns this would reopen a four‑year gap between 50-over World Cups and possibly hasten the one-day format’s demise.
This latest Champions Trophy, which is televised on Sky Sports, features the top eight from the 2023 World Cup group stage, qualifying criteria that became public knowledge only halfway through it.
Pakistan is hosting its first global men’s event for 28 years, the latest milestone on the long road out of security-dictated isolation that was first paved by the creation of the Pakistan Super League and the slow return of bilateral tours to the country.
And yet for all of its baseline confection – the tournament is the ICC in microcosm, one could argue – this Champions Trophy is also a hugely significant moment for the sport.
