Mockery in the name of Champions Trophy

I am really baffled as to how so many weak sides have been included in such a tournament and I must admit that the end of phase one comes as great relief, writes Kris Srikkanth.

I have a simple question for the ICC. Why is the tournament currently on in England called the Champions Trophy, when all and sundry seem to be playing in it? I am really baffled as to how so many weak sides have been included in such a tournament and I must admit that the end of phase one, the completion of the matches against the minnows, comes as great relief.

The difference between the sides involved thus far has been too huge. I understand that it is a good idea to promote the weaker sides but I am of the opinion that there should be a different forum for that. You cannot mess with major tournaments such as these and dilute the competition thus.

Quite a few of the top players from the champion sides share this view. The general feeling amongst the cricketing elite is that it should be a two-tier tournament, with the top six playing in one and the next six in another and I fully endorse that view. Let us admit something -- cricket today is run in great style thanks to the money coming in from television rights. In fact this tournament came about because the ICC wanted to rake in some additional money for the development of the game worldwide. But having seen how uninteresting the matches thus far have been, I am a little sceptical about how long the money will keep coming in.

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