Australia Team. (Photo Source: Paul Kane/Getty Images)

The 19-day-long extravaganza of the came to a fitting close with India emerging victorious over New Zealand by four wickets to lay hands on yet another ICC title. It was a hard-fought battle in which the Men in Blue turned out to be more clinical on the day. Notably, the recently-concluded Champions Trophy was the first time in eight years that the tournament was being played.

The entire event was characterised by quite a lot of memorable player performances, collective brilliance, and game-changing moments, all of which truly made for a memorable few weeks for the cricket fraternity in general. After a successful conclusion of the 50-over spectacle, one of the topics which has generated widespread buzz is similar tournaments such as the Champions Trophy which have been absent from the cricketing calendar for quite some time now.

3 iconic tournaments that need to restart 3. Champions League Twenty20 Chennai Super Kings. (Photo Source: CSK)

The Champions League Twenty20 was one such 20-over franchise tournament which enjoyed comparable hype as the Indian Premier League until its eventual discontinuation. The CLT20 was launched a year after the IPL had made its inception. The tournament was introduced to bring about a UEFA Champions League-style format to cricket, with franchises from various domestic competitions getting shortlisted on a yearly basis. The CLT20 was jointly owned by the Board of Cricket for Control in India, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa.

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The final installment of the CLT20 was played in 2014. The two most-successful franchises of the IPL ahead of IPL 2025, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, ended up winning the competition twice each. New South Wales Blues and Sydney Sixers were the other sides to lift the CLT20 silverware. Unfortunately, the CLT20 was ceased with the decision being finalised in July 2015. The reasons provided for the same were poor television ratings, a lack of fan engagement, and fluctuating value of sponsorship deals. 

2. Afro-Asia Cup Afro-Asia Cup 2007. (Photo Source: Twitter/X)

The Afro-Asia Cup was another tournament that was quite unique when compared to the usual cricketing tournaments held across the globe. As implied by its name, it was a cricket series played between an Asian XI and an African XI. A third iteration of the tournament was scheduled for 2009, but it never materialised. The teams for the 2005 and 2007 chapters were selected by ex-Test cricketers rather than national selectors from any of the cricketing administrative bodies. The matches which were played were provided official ODI status. The proceeds from the matches which were played were intended to be utilised for cricketing development in Asia and Africa.

The three-match series of the inaugural edition was drawn 1-1 after the decider in Durban was washed out. Asia XI went on to claim a 3-0 victory against Africa XI in 2007. A catalog of prominent players like Shahid Afridi, Muttiah Muralitharan, and MS Dhoni, to name a few, represented Asia XI at separate instances. There were talks brewing in November 2024 in relation to the Afro-Asian Cup making a comeback. There have been no further developments on the same. If brought back into life, the tournament is sure to set off a wave of frenzied euphoria amid supporters of the game.

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1. Tri-series (Australian Tri-Series, NatWest Series) Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting. (Photo Source: Twitter/X)

The most-recent triangular series that unfolded was the Tri-Nation Series between Pakistan, New Zealand, and South Africa. Although it was just ahead of a major ICC tournament (Champions Trophy 2025), it stirred up a lot of hype among pure cricket enthusiasts. Similar to the Tri-Nation Series, there were two quite significant tri-series which were played on an active basis back in the day - Australian Tri-Series and the NatWest Series. There have been a few other three-team tournaments which have been played in the past, but the aforementioned ones have been the most noteworthy.

The Australian Tri-Series was an annual One-Day International tournament which was conducted in Australia, comprising the hosts and two other teams. The tournament underwent numerous changes of names under several commericial titles. It was called the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup (1979–80 to 1987–88), Benson & Hedges World Series (1988–89 to 1995–96), Carlton & United Series (1996–97 to 1999–2000), Carlton Series (2000–01), Victoria Bitter Series (2001–02 to 2005–06, 2015/16 to 2016/17), Commonwealth Bank Series (2006–07 to 2012–13), and Carlton Mid Series (2013–14 to 2014/15).

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As for the NatWest Series, it was played between England and two international visiting sides with the format being similar to a triangular series from 2000 to 2005. The triangular format was abandoned by England in 2006. The 2005 edition was shared by England and Australia in a thriller of a contest, which ended in the scores being level after the completion of both sides' innings.