The International Cricket Council has three international tournaments featuring cricket-playing nations – ICC Cricket World Cup, Champions Trophy and the World T20. The first two are tournaments played in the ODI format, while the third one is the T20 world cup. The World Cup is the oldest of the lot. The Champions Trophy was introduced in 1998 – a shorter tournament as opposed to the nearly two-month long World Cup. At present, the top eight teams in the ICC ODI rankings take part in the tournament.

Nearly a couple of decades ago, the first edition of this tourney got underway in Bangladesh. For the first and the second season, it was called the ICC Knockouts. Every match a team played was a shootout, or a knockout, and there was no second chance for any mishap. South Africa won the final, becoming the first winners of the Champions Trophy. It remains to be their only ICC title till date.

The next edition was held in 2000, in Nairobi! Kenya had developed into a cricket-loving nation and their team had some memorable moments by then, enough to get the capital to host an ICC event. The thirteen-day tournament ended with an India-New Zealand final that the latter won after Chris Cairns’ century bailed the Kiwis out from their early rut. The tournament was soon becoming popular among fans and they loved the fact that every match was an eliminator.

Sri Lanka got their opportunity to host the ICC Knockouts in 2002! For the first time in the history of the tournament, the group stage format was introduced. The whole series was renamed, the ICC Champions Trophy from here on. This gave teams the opportunity to make a comeback if they lost their opening game. After some fierce battles, India and Sri Lanka made it to the final. On the day of the final, rain intervened after Sri Lanka batted first. The exact same happened on the reserve day when the match was re-started. India began their pursuit and rain ended all hopes of any more cricket in the tournament. The trophy was eventually shared by the two sub-continental teams.

The next stop for the tournament was in England, in 2004! Apart from Kenya, the United States of America made their first appearance in an ICC tournament. The group stage witnessed some comprehensive victories by many teams, but the best game was saved for the final; played between England and West Indies. Needing just 218 runs to win, the West Indians were reduced to 147/8 in the 34th over. A rear-guard rescue act by wicket-keeper, Courtney Browne and pacer, Ian Bradshaw saw them over the line against the hosts, with 7 balls to spare. The 71-run stand is perhaps the most iconic memories of the ICC Champions Trophy.

The Champions Trophy reached India for the first time in its fifth edition. This time around, the tournament lasted for nearly a month. Associate teams were no longer a part of it from this edition onwards. After some exciting cricket in the group stages and the semi-finals, Australia and West Indies faced off in the final. A dominating performance by the Aussies saw them lift the trophy for the first time.

After a gap of three years, the Champions Trophy returned to England, which became the first country to host it for the second time. The final was a Trans-Tasman clash, and the Aussies prevailed to lift the cup for the second consecutive time, after a strong performance with the ball and a century by opener Shane Watson.|

After a hiatus of four years, the Champions Trophy finally squeezed into a slot in the busy cricketing calendar of 2013. England went on to host it for the third time. An unbeaten run by India saw them enter the final, as they played the hosts. In what was a rain-affected game, the Men in Blue won the contest by a small margin of 5 runs to secure their first outright victory in the Champions Trophy. The seventh edition was set to bring down curtains on the prestigious tournament. However, the ICC decided to bring it back.

The 2017 edition, the eighth, will see the Champions Trophy’s revival. As opposed to previous editions, this one will see eight teams take part – England, India, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Two Test playing nations, West Indies and Zimbabwe missed out as they were ranked below 8 in the ICC ODI rankings. England is all set to host the carnival again. From what we have seen in the recent ODIs in England, we may witness a lot of runs being scored. So, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for some thrilling action in the ICC Champions Trophy, 2017.