ICC Champions Trophy: 5 survivors from 2006 who continue to play on

The ICC Champions Trophy is just a few days away with the warm-up matches already begun. The prestigious tournament began way back in 1998 when it was known as the ICC Knockout Trophy.

The name was eventually changed to the Champions Trophy in 2002. Earlier, we witnessed the tournament take place every two years but since 2009, it has been taking place once in four years, just like the world cup. The next Champions Trophy is scheduled to place in 2021 in India.

Amongst the current squads taking part in the tournament, there are a lot of players who have an immense amount of experience having played in a number of Champions Trophies and World Cups.

In this article, we take a look at 5 such players who played in the 2006 Champions Trophy and will be playing this year as well.

#5 AB de Villiers

One of the most enigmatic, entertaining and destructive batsmen to have played the game, AB de Villiers will be leading South Africa’s charge in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.

He is known for his ability to decimate the opposition bowlers and take the game away from the opposition in any given situation.

However, he began his career really slowly and was not the dangerous batsman he is today. He took part in this first Champions Trophy in 2006 and managed to score 110 runs in 3 innings at an average of 36.66 with one half-century to his name.

What was surprising was that his strike rate was only 70, something which is a rare site when you look at his record over the past few years.

He will be playing 4^th Champions Trophy for South Africa this year and will look to help South Africa lift their first ICC tournament since 1998.

#4 Shoaib Malik

The former Pakistan captain has been around in the squad for over a decade and has a whole lot of experience under his belt. The 2006 Champions Trophy was his third as he had already played in 2002 and 2004 as well.

He has been a consistent performer in the side and his experience will come in handy as Pakistan look to lift their first ever trophy this time around.their first ever trophy this time around.

After Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq’s retirement, we could soon see Shoaib Malik too, step down and call it a day after the Champions trophy.

He played 3 matches in the tournament back in 2006 and scored 98 runs at an average of 49. In total, He has played 247 ODIs for Pakistan and has amassed 6711 runs with 39 half centuries and 9 centuries to his name.

#3 Shakib al Hasan

The former Bangladeshi captain is arguably the greatest ever cricketer to have come out of the country and is one of the best all-rounders in the world today.

He has consistently performed well for The Tigers and is one of the main reasons for their growth and success today. He made his Champions Trophy debut in 2006 and was one of the top performers in the side despite Bangladesh crashing out early.

He played 3 matches and scored 103 runs at an average of 51 with one half-century to his name. He picked up 3 wickets with the ball as well.

Bangladesh have reached their highest ever ODI rankings and are currently ahead of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They will prove to be a serious threat in the Champions Trophy this year and Shakib will be sure to be at the helm of the action.

#2 Yuvraj Singh

One of the greatest fighters in the Indian cricket team, Yuvraj Singh has defied the odds on a number of occasions and made a comeback to the side after being dropped.

He is a veteran of the Champions Trophy as he began his stint at the tournament way back in 2000 when the tournament was known as the ICC Knockout Cup. In the 2006 edition, he played in only 2 matches and scored 54 runs.

Unfortunately, he missed out in 2009 due to an injury and in 2013 due to his lack of match practice and poor form. He will be making a comeback to the tournament after 11 years and will be looking to make a mark for himself and help India defend the title.

#1 MS Dhoni

Widely regarded as the best captain of India, MS Dhoni played his first Champions Trophy back in 2006 under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid.

He did not make too much of an impact as he scored 81 runs in 3 matches with one half-century to his name. However, he achieved a lot of success in the subsequent tournaments and led India to the title in 2013.

He will be playing under a different captain in an ICC event for the first time in 10 years with Virat Kohli leading India’s charge this time around. However, we are sure to see him as active on the field as before and help Kohli with the on-field decisions.

His batting form has been under scrutiny off-late and he will look to step up this time and provide the much-needed stability in the middle order.