Intrigue, uncertainty, backstage drama. The ICC Champions Trophy has seen all of it even before the curtains go up on the tournament and it might only get more stirring over the subsequent three weeks, starting with the opening clash between Pakistan and Latest Zealand in Karachi. Eight teams will vie for a trophy, often talked up as tougher to win than the World Cup, and likewise to script a brand new chapter in their very own cricketing story. While India will fight it out in Dubai, others can be based in Pakistan, which might get to host its first ICC event because the 1996 World Cup.
Several barriers needed to be hurdled over to cobble this tournament together after eight years. The tournament can be crucial amid the raging debate on the relevance of ODI cricket, which is struggling to search out its space amid the fashion for T20 cricket and the devotion for Test format.
Perhaps, no other cricketing event within the recent past has been harried a lot by long-standing geopolitical tensions, stubbornness by administrative boards of two necessary participants, and the nail-biting anxiety over the readiness of venues within the foremost hosting nation.
The chaos has been an endearing throwback to the 90s when cricket within the sub-continent resembled a unexpectedly organised party.
But all these pre-tournament jitters can be forgotten once the teams enter the sphere, and the primary of them can be Pakistan and Latest Zealand.
If anyone needs a reminder, then Pakistan had won the last edition of the Champions Trophy in 2017.
The opening match in itself is a curious clash — a talented-yet-volatile Pakistan unsure of its own destiny against a team for which order is the whole lot.
However the blue riband match of the tournament can be on February 23 when India tackle Pakistan, ushering in customary waves of nostalgia, emotions, political grand-standing, and the social media battle.
That marquee showdown can be in Dubai as India remained steadfast in its refusal to set foot on Pakistani soil owing to security concerns.
Last dance of Kohli, Rohit?
But beyond such team equations, certain individual players would want this tournament to be a memorable one.
On top of the list are India’s batting talismans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. They’ve been magnificent servants of the sport over the past decade and half.
Few in modern era were in a position to match their achievements and aura. But now, these two titans have reached the last lap of a protracted race, and would wish to bow out in a blaze of glory.
It’s tough to assume Kohli and Rohit being a part of India’s ODI set-up after the Champions Trophy regardless of the final result.
It’d even impact their future in Test cricket, as a lukewarm outing here might force the selectors to mull over their role ahead of India’s tour to England in June.
Similarly, a failure to win the Champions Trophy will bring the role of head coach Gautam Gambhir under scrutiny.
Gambhir might need received a short lived relief after India’s domination over England within the recent home series, but not it would not be enough to brush under the carpet, India’s recent travails against Latest Zealand and Australia.
But a worldwide trophy will definitely give him a significantly better ground to face.
From a team perspective, India can be desperate to wrest their first ICC trophy within the 50-over format after their triumph within the 2013 Champions Trophy under the enigmatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
It would be an ideal parting gift to Kohli and Rohit and a welcome carpet to some young names reminiscent of Shubman Gill who’re set to take India into the longer term.
The challengers
India are playing a brand of ODI cricket that makes them quick favourites to win the tournament. They’ve adopted an aggressive approach and have a varied line-up, brimming with talent.
But such calculations can go unsuitable due to a nasty moment or session, because it happened within the 2023 World Cup final when India succumbed to Australia after a middling batting effort.
The Aussies themselves are without their premier pacers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. However the two-time champions still pack a punch as they’ve a batting unit to fulfill the demands of ODI format.
Once a feared white-ball team, England have slipped a couple of rungs as age and form have caught up with a few of their leading performers.
But do the likes of Jos Buttler, Joe Root and Liam Livingstone have one last roar left in them? Or will a few of their latest stars reminiscent of Harry Brook or Ben Duckett cut open a brand new path? Latest Zealand are also travelling on fresh avenue following the retirement of Trent Boult and Tim Southee. Kane Williamson is their trump card and the Kiwis would hope that he fires for them to earn their maiden white ball ICC trophy.
South Africa too could have an analogous goal. They’d won ICC Knockouts Trophy in 1998, but not bagged anything in recent times and the Temba Bavuma-led side can be hoping for a reversal of fortune.
But for that to occur, the Proteas should coat their minds with steel in crunch situations.
It’s applicable to Pakistan as well. In the event that they can stop obsessing over the match against India and never treat it because the ‘final frontier’, then the house side is a dangerous opposition.
Their pace attack is top-notch and so they have some batters like Fakhar Zaman and Salman Ali Agha who can activate the warmth on the rivals.
Afghanistan, who’ve transformed right into a formidable white-ball outfit, can also put other teams under immense pressure through a squad that has Rashid Khan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Bangladesh now has receded to the periphery of cricketing consciousness, but can they pull of a stunner as that they had done within the 2007 50-over World Cup? It might be a fitting tribute to a tournament that has already undergone several disruptions. So, let the play begin.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this text
