Amid all the talks of a potential change of formats for the Champions Trophy 2025, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has asked an important question. If the International Cricket Council (ICC) decides to change the format of the 8-team tournament from ODI to T20, will players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja unretire to play an event?
Champions Trophy 2025 without Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli?
”Are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma coming out of retirement in T20Is? So, if they are not coming out of retirement, then how can the Champions Trophy be played in the T20 format? How will the sponsors and broadcasters accept the change in format without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja?” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
The question is quite relevant. All three had retired after the Indian cricket team won the 2024 T20 World Cup. If the Champions Trophy indeed is played in a T20 format, will they come back to play one last time? Everyone knows that the ICC event can’t take place without Team India, but we can’t undermine the popularity of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. If both aren’t there, the viewership for the tournament will take quite a hit.
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Format change calls
The stakeholders think that organising the Champions Trophy 2025 in an T20 format instead of ODI with the stalemate between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be challenging, and therefore they prefer the T20 format. Of course, as a product as well, 50-over is becoming obsolete, and making it a 4-hour affair helps them.
New reports suggest that the PCB has accepted the hybrid model, according to which Team India will play their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai, but no confirmation has come yet.
