Geopolitical reality, lack of buzz in host nation Pakistan and mediocre cricket in general meant Champions Trophy’s much-anticipated return to the calendar did not go according to plan for the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).
The one-day international (ODI) tournament served as an ICC fundraiser but offered no assurance about the future of a format battling for relevance in a cricket landscape ruled by Twenty20 leagues either.
Financial engine India’s participation, a key factor behind the commercial success of any cricket tournament, was in doubt after Pakistan bagged the hosting rights for the first ICC event in the country since 1996.
The Indian board (BCCI) stuck to their policy of not touring Pakistan because of the strained political ties between the bitter neighbors, who play each other only in ICC events.
Like for the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan, a ‘hybrid model’ was agreed on under which India were allowed to play their matches in Dubai to salvage a tournament, which had been discontinued after the 2017 edition.
Under the agreement running until 2027, Pakistan will play in a neutral venue for any ICC event, like next year’s Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled in India.
Reigning T20 world champions India beat New Zealand in Sunday’s final to prove their credentials as a white-ball behemoth.
India have lost just one match — the final of the ODI World Cup in 2023 — in their last three ICC events and probably did not require what many called an “unfair advantage” of playing all their matches in Dubai.
“I feel sorry for India’s cricketers,” award-winning cricket writer Nicholas Brookes told Reuters.
“They are an outstanding team – in my mind, streets ahead of their competition regardless of conditions, and one of the greatest white-ball sides the game has seen.
“This tournament should have been their victory lap, but their brilliance has been somewhat overshadowed by constant questions about unfair advantages.”
Allowing India to play all their matches in Dubai robbed Pakistan of the honor of hosting the final and disrupted the schedule of the knockout matches.
South Africa were made to take a farcical 18-hour trip to Dubai in anticipation of a semifinal against India before flying back to Pakistan to face New Zealand.

“BENDING OVER BACKWARDS”

The whole affair made the ICC, currently headed by former BCCI secretary Jay Shah, look weak in front of the world’s richest cricket board.
The scheduling also favored India, who had a week’s rest between their last two group matches, while Afghanistan played twice in three days.
“That looks like the ICC putting finances ahead of fairness,” said Brookes, whose “An Island’s Eleven” charts the history of Sri Lankan cricket and won the Wisden Book Of The Year award in 2023.
“Some people will naturally think that the governing body is bending over backwards to accommodate India.”
Defending champions Pakistan looked under-prepared for the tournament, both on and off the field.
Eleventh-hour facelift to stadiums in Karachi and Lahore, sparse crowd and three washouts dampened the spirit among the locals.
Adding to their woes, Mohammed Rizwan and his men finished bottom of Group A after a winless campaign that included a defeat by arch-rivals India.
An injury-ravaged Australia fielded a second string pace attack with Steve Smith, who quit ODIs after their semifinal exit, leading them in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins.
New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra bagged the player-of-the-tournament prize, while fellow Black Cap Glenn Phillips redefined fielding with gravity-defying catches and India’s Virat Kohli proved he is not a spent force yet but the cricket was largely mediocre.
Afghanistan could not make the last four but impressed on their Champions Trophy debut while former champions England are searching for a new captain after their winless campaign prompted Jos Buttler to step down.

Lando Norris will have to defy plenty of history to win the Formula 1 title this year.
There’s his friend-turned-rival Max Verstappen’s bid for a fifth title in a row. Just like the only driver to achieve that feat, Michael Schumacher, Verstappen is a hard racer who isn’t afraid to bend the rules — as Norris knows from bitter experience.
Then there’s Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion going for a record eighth title in 2025. It’s his first season with Ferrari, which is itching to end a wait for a drivers’ title going back to 2007.
Norris is the under-pressure favorite
Norris is widely considered the favorite after he and McLaren had a strong second half of 2024 — though not strong enough to beat Verstappen — but it could be the closest season in years.
McLaren seemed competitive in preseason testing last month but Norris has to watch out not only for Verstappen and Hamilton, but also for his own teammate Oscar Piastri, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell. Five drivers from four different teams won the last six races of 2024.
“As much as we want to believe we’re the best, I guess we still want to feel like we’re underdogs. We have a lot to fight for,” Norris said last month. After slipping up from pole position in a few races last season, Norris insists he can thrive as the driver to beat.
“I know, coming into this season that for a lot of people I’m the favorite and as a team we’re the favorites,” Norris said. “I’ve always done much better under pressure. I’m able to think and to focus much more.”
Verstappen shows he’s still hungry
Ever since beating Hamilton to the 2021 title in a race that’s still controversial, Verstappen has been F1’s man to beat.
He’s long been clear he doesn’t want to stay in F1 into his 40s like Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, so could motivation be a factor in the Dutch driver’s bid for a fifth title? Verstappen says last season — when he tested Norris to the limit and sometimes beyond — shows he’s still hungry.
“My motivation is there because I think already last year it was not straightforward,” Verstappen said. “We had of course good wins, but I guess not as many as we would have liked, but we still won the championship.”
After a year when off-track events threatened to overwhelm Verstappen’s Red Bull team and his own father sparred with the management, Verstappen seems more settled at the start of his 11th season in F1. The team feels “like a second family,” he said last month.
Hamilton aims for title No. 8
Another title for Hamilton would break a tie with Schumacher for the most in F1 history.
The British driver proclaimed himself “invigorated” at F1’s glitzy season launch. Expectations from Ferrari’s “Tifosi” fans are so high that he could finally bring success to the Italian team that some cut down a tree to better watch Hamilton test the new SF-25 car.
“I know what a winning team looks and feels like,” he said last month. “The passion here is like nothing you’ve ever seen. They’ve got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship. And it’s just about putting all the pieces together.”
Other contenders for the crown
Mercedes solved long-running car issues to win four of the last 14 races in 2024, including Hamilton’s emotional home win at the British Grand Prix. Three-time winner Russell is joined by 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who starts his career with some valuable advice from Hamilton.
If they can’t challenge for the podium right away, other teams like Aston Martin might opt to switch focus early to their 2026 cars. Next year brings a big change in the regulations and getting a head-start could pay off for years to come.
Off-track tensions
Watch out too for a simmering feud between the drivers and the governing body, the FIA, whose president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to crack down on drivers swearing.
New rules mean fines starting at 40,000 euros ($42,000) and even potential suspensions and point deductions for repeat offenders. Drivers have previously raised concerns about where the money from fines goes, a string of firings of senior FIA staff and Ben Sulayem’s “own tone and language.”