Cricket News

Which teams have qualified for the 2025 Champions Trophy?

The exhilarating group stage of the ODI World Cup has concluded, paving the way for the highly anticipated knockout matches. India will lock horns with New Zealand in the first semi-final, set to take place at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 15th. The following day, South Africa and Australia will clash in the second semi-final, gracing the hallowed Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The victors of these intense battles will then converge in the grand finale, scheduled for Sunday, November 19th.

While the World Cup stands as a pinnacle of cricketing achievement in its own right, the stakes were elevated this year as qualification for the prestigious 2025 Champions Trophy hinged on the performances in the tournament. The Apex Cricket Council had announced that the top 7 teams along with Pakistan would qualify for the Champions Trophy.

As such, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, England and Bangladesh have qualified for the marquee event which will be hosted by Pakistan. Afghanistan have qualified for the Champions Trophy for the first time in history, something that they have earned courtesy of their admirable performance in the World Cup.

England qualify despite underwhelming performance in ODI World Cup 2023

They won four games, handing defeats to England and Pakistan along the way while coming close to beating five-time champions Australia. Defending champions, England had a terrible tournament and at one point, their qualification to the 2025 Champions Trophy was also in danger. However, they have managed to qualify for the event thanks to wins in their last two games.

The two teams which have unfortunately missed out are Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. Sri Lanka, after having a great run in the Asia Cup, failed to give a good account of themselves as they could only win two games. But the fact of the matter is that even if they had finished in the top 8, they wouldn’t have qualified since their board has been suspended owing to government intervention. On the other hand, the Netherlands, led by Scott Edwards defied all expectations to win a couple of games against South Africa and Sri Lanka but still ended with the wooden spoon.