Champions Trophy Kicks Off: Key Highlights – Kohli & Rohit’s Possible Farewell, Pakistan’s Historic Return After 29 Years

After all the drama and controversy and controversies, the ICC Champions Trophy will begin on Wednesday, with host country and champion Pakistantaking on New Zealand in the opening match on the National Stadium in Karachi. The 50-over event is set to return following an absence of eight years. The tournament will feature eight teams that will be selected by their position during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Sri Lanka failed to make the Champions Trophy cut for the first time, and Afghanistan will make their debut.

1. The return of the Champions Trophy today: after a period of eight years was a proposal to end the Champions Trophy after 2013 and replace it with the World Test Championship, as ICC would like to have one major event in each of the formats. The tournament was revived in 2014, after the WTC idea was scrapped.

2. Champion in the midst: Pakistan Mohammad Rizwan's team will be entering this tournament's ninth year as the defending champions after beating India by a massive score of 180 runs in the final of 2017 held at The Oval. But, a lot has changed the way things have gone for Pakistan since their first Champions Trophy haul, with Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman as the only two regulars.

The top betting sites in India can provide further information in depth regarding the ongoing series.

3. The first major ICC tour tournament held in Pakistan from 1996 onwards: Pakistan has been chosen as the venue of 2025's Champions Trophy India. It will be the first major international event in Pakistan following the attack in 2009 on the traveling Sri Lankan team. The incident resulted in the ICC changing its 2009 Champions Trophy from Pakistan to South Africa.

4. Pakistan hosts a co-hosting event: BCCI has confirmed with the ICC that the Indian government had not given permission for India's Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma-led Indian team for travel Pakistan to host the Champions Trophy. UAE was selected as the neutral site for all India's games.

5. First Champions Trophy for Afghanistan: The qualifying criteria for Afghanistan were the performance at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Afghanistan qualified to the finals for only the second time in its history following a sixth place finish in league tables having won four times in nine games.