Was Champions Trophy 2017 the last edition?

The Champions Trophy 2017 is over and although the result is not one which everybody predicted at the start, as Pakistan came out on top hammering India in the finals. Commercially, an India-Pakistan match has always generated heavy revenues for everyone involved and this case was no exception, with the added crown being the final. However, the future of the Champions Trophy looks bleak and uncertain.

Richardson on the new consideration

According to Dave Richardson, chief executive officer of the ICC, the World Twenty20 could be held twice every two years instead of a Champions Trophy every four years. This is with regard to some official criticism with respect to the fact that the current format is irrefutably similar to the ICC World Cup 2019 format which controversially only has ten teams.

Richardson said that if the new plan is implemented, the number of teams will go up to 15, maybe 20.”What we want to do is differentiate our global events from each other so that they can be standalone and create maximum interest every time the event happens,” he told reporters over the phone ahead of the ICC’s annual conference in London.

“The fact is that World T20s do attract a lot of interest, they generate significant revenue for the television companies, but most importantly from our point of view they provide us with an opportunity to give more opportunities to more teams,” the next Champions Trophy is supposed to be held in India in 2021. He said consideration has been given to swapping a World Twenty20 for the Champions Trophy.

Test status

The debate surrounding the upcoming conference is regarding the Test status of Ireland and Afghanistan. “It’s never wise to try and make a call too early, but certainly, the applications of both are very well founded,” said Richardson.
“They both, on the face of it, meet the majority, if not all, of the full member criteria that has been set.”

Certainly, the World Twenty20 is a big money spinner for the boards and gives a window to a large number of teams to get worldwide attention. If the ICC is unwilling to compromise on the number of teams for the 50 over World Cup, the Champions Trophy might get defunct.