2 World Cup winning teams that haven’t qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 countdown has begun, with not many days left for the competition. This tournament, which last happened in England in 2017, is now set to offer some exciting cricketing contests after an 8 year break. A total of 8 teams will play in this 50 over format, with Pakistan as the host. However, India will play their matches in Dubai, and if they qualify for the final, it will also be held there.

The Champions Trophy 2025 schedule is out with full clarity. Group A consists of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and New Zealand, while Group B includes Afghanistan, England, Australia, and South Africa.

But if we look closely, there are two teams with an incredible ODI record overall, yet they failed to make it to CT 2025.

In fact, these teams were the past 50-over World Cup winners but still failed to qualify. Who are these teams? Let’s take a look at these two teams and see the reasons why they failed to qualify for CT 2025.

Teams that haven’t qualified for the Champions Trophy

West Indies

1975 and 1979 ODI World Cup champions, and always a dangerous side in limited-over cricket, West Indies failed to make it to the Champions Trophy 2025. The reason they failed to qualify is the ICC’s rules this time. In the last 50-over World Cup, it was decided that the top 8 teams would secure a spot, along with Pakistan, the host nation.

Since the West Indies didn’t participate in the 50-over World Cup due to their recent struggles in ODIs, they initially missed out on World Cup qualification through their ICC ODI ranking. When they entered the World Cup qualifiers, they failed there as well. As a result, they failed to qualify for the World Cup. As getting into the World Cup was important for Champions Trophy qualification. Unfortunately, West Indies did not meet these requirements, which is why they failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025

Sri Lanka

1996 ODI World Cup winners and 2011 finalists Sri Lanka also failed to pass the qualification standards. However, the reason was quite different from West Indies. Sri Lanka participated in the ODI World Cup 2023 but won only 2 out of the 9 matches they played, losing 7.

As a result, they earned just 4 points and finished 9th on the table. Initially, there were concerns that India might pull out of the tournament due to not wanting to travel to Pakistan. However, nothing happened in the end, as India is participating in the Champions Trophy with the hybrid setup taking place. Since Sri Lanka failed to perform well and finished poorly on the table, they will not be in the Champions Trophy. On the other hand, newcomers Afghanistan are making their Champions Trophy debut this time.