A total of 8 teams will participate in Champions Trophy 2023. These eight teams will be divided into two groups. All the teams, which will take part in the competition, have already been decided.
Champions Trophy Qualification
As soon as the league stage matches of the World Cup 2023 have ended, the scenario of the Champions Trophy 2025 has got clear. Actually, ICC has already decided that in addition to Pakistan, only the top 7 teams on the points table of the World Cup League Stage will get a place in the Champions Trophy. In such a situation, after all 45 league matches of the on-going World Cup 2023 have been played, the names of all the teams that will take part in the Champions Trophy have been decided.
Pakistan will be hosting Champions Trophy 2025. Hence, it has earned automatic qualification to participate in the tournament. Apart from the host country, among the top 7 teams, India, Afghanistan, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia have already qualified for the tournament after winning back-to-back matches in the on-going ICC World Cup. The four teams – Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England and Netherlands – have been in tough competition to secure the last two spots in order to play in the Champions Trophy 2023.
Things changed at the last moment
At one time, England was lagging behind in the race to earn eligibility for playing in the Champions Trophy. At the same time, Sri Lanka and Netherlands almost secured their places in the ‘top 8’ list but in the last matches, Bangladesh and England lost their chances, ending the hopes of Sri Lanka and Netherlands by making it to the top 8 of the points table.
The final eight teams for the Champions Trophy are:
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Afghanistan
England
South Africa
Australia
New Zealand
Sri Lanka and Netherlands occupied the last two spots in the ICC World Cup 2023 point table. Both teams have narrowly missed the Champions Trophy. Other ICC member nations such as Ireland, West Indies, and Zimbabwe will not play in the Champions Trophy 2025. These three teams could not qualify for the World Cup.
