Champions Trophy begins today: 8 things to know—Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's potential last dance to group stage dynamics

Ahead of the start of the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, a look at the key factors at play—from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's form to group game dynamics.

After all the drama and controversies, the ICC Champions Trophy is all set to begin on Wednesday, with host nation and defending champion Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the opener at the National Stadium in Karachi. The 50-over tournament will be making a return after an eight-year hiatus. The event will comprise eight teams, picked based on their ranking in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Sri Lanka failed to make the Champions Trophy cut for the first time, while Afghanistan will be making their debut.

Ahead of the start of the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, we look at the eight things to know about the tournament.

Virat Kohli (R) and Rohit Sharma will hold the key for India at the Champions Trophy. (AFP) (HT_PRINT)

1. Return after eight years: There were calls to scrap the Champions Trophy after 2013 and replace it with the World Test Championship, as ICC wanted one major tournament for each format. However, it was reinstated in 2014 after the WTC concept was scrapped. The Champions Trophy, earlier known as the ICC KnockOut Trophy, faced the eventual fate after the 2017 edition as the governing body did not host the tournament in 2021. However, it was brought back again into the international fixture for 2025.

2. Defending champion - Pakistan: The Mohammad Rizwan-led side will head into the ninth edition of the tournament as defending champions, having beaten India by an emphatic margin of 180 runs in the 2017 final at The Oval. However, much has changed for Pakistan since their maiden Champions Trophy haul, with Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman being the only constants.

4. Pakistan has a co-host: BCCI confirmed to the ICC that the Indian government did not give clearance to the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. UAE was picked as the neutral venue for all of India's matches. In fact, the ICC adopted the hybrid model for every tournament until 2027, implying that neither team won't travel to their neighbouring country.

5. First Champions Trophy for Afghanistan: The qualification criteria were the results in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Afghanistan made the cut for the first time in history after finishing sixth in the league table, with four wins in nine matches. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands were the only two teams to miss the cut.

6. Only three group games per team: The ICC retained the format introduced in 2006, implying that all eight teams will be slotted into two groups of four, with each side playing the other once. Only the top two teams from each group will make the semifinal, and two will feature in the summit clash.

7. Maybe the last series for Kohli, Rohit: Although Gautam Gambhir had confirmed in the previous year at the time of his appointment as the head coach that he does want to see Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the 2027 ODI World Cup, amid the dwindling form and the emergence of young talents, speculations are rife that this might be their final tournament in ODI cricket. And if it does happen, the two senior batters would want to walk away from the format with a tournament to remember.

8. Missing stars: As many as 12 players, who were named in the provisional list for each of the participating teams, will be missing out on the 2025 Champions Trophy owing to injuries. India incurred a big blow with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out, but Australia suffered the most as they will miss the services of five players, including Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.