The ICC hosts a range of tournaments, each carrying its own uniqueness and entertainment. While some tournaments garner huge numbers of crowds than others but every tournament is prestigious in its own rights.
Here’s a ranking of major ICC Tournaments by its significance :
1 – Cricket World Cup (ODI Cricket)
The fans refer to the 50 Overs World Cup as the most prestigious Trophy. Players compete in this competition with a blaze of glory, a tournament that defines Players’s Legacy.
With a rich history since 1975, The competition has witnessed some iconic moments such as The Windies’ Greatness, India’s Upset in 1983, Australia’s dominance and more. Held every four years, the tournament crowns cultural and massive commercial impact, often passing the expectations.
2 – T20I World Cup
The tournament that attracts younger audiences and has revolutionized cricket with its shorter format. Mottled with high-intensity entertainment, there’s seldom a dull moment in 20-over events. The format has appealed globally as well in such countries where Cricket isn’t very much prominent.
The explosive tournament started in 2007 and since then has witnessed immense success commercially. It has replicated the same growth of the franchise cricket. The tournament has delivered some iconic moments such as the Windies’ triumph in the last over of the final against England in 2016. India’s trophy glory after 11 years of drought.
3 – World Test Championship (WTC)
A league-style competition for the oldest and purest format of the sport, many fans consider Test Cricket as Real Cricket. The WTC Cycle runs for two years, and after that, the top two teams play a 5 Day Test Match to crown the Champions of Test Cricket.
Many people refer to Test Cricket as the Greatest Format due to its depth and history. Teams also require players with the highest skills and the most strategic minds to be prosperous in this format.
While The Test Cricket holds the deepest history, on the other hand, they launched The World Test Championship in 2019, which lacks historical significance.
4 – Champions Trophy
Many fans referred to this tournament as the “Mini World Cup.” An 8-team tournament commenced in 1998 and continued until 2017. After that, it halted but returned in 2025, which India triumphed in by beating New Zealand in the final.
The Champions Trophy has the World Cup tang, the matches are just as intense as the World Cup. With its shorter duration, the tournament provides the desired entertainment. Commercially, the event pulls up strong viewership but couldn’t match the level of The World Cup.
5 – Women’s ODI World Cup
Women’s cricket has often been overshadowed by the men’s side. Audiences are relatively smaller compared to men’s cricket; however, when the Women’s 50-over World Cup is played, the event attracts meticulous attention from around the globe.
The tournament holds less historical values but its viewership is increasing at a steady pace. The developing tournament still delivers eye watering matches for the fans but it still is a level below the men’s events.
6 – Women’s T20 World Cup
Just as Men’s T20 Cricket, The Women’s side has witnessed a huge surge of attention as well through the shorter format, matches are fast paced, mirroring Men’s T20 Cricket.
A whopping 86,174 spectators enjoyed the final of the 2020 edition at the MCG, which is a massive spectacle for women’s cricket. The tournament is on the rise, but it’s still way behind men’s cricket, particularly on the competitive side as well. Besides Australia, England, India and maybe South Africa, the other teams couldn’t elevate their performance to appear formidable.
7 – ICC U19 World Cup
A tournament that solely focuses on the future talents. The tournament has provided some greats to the sport such as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Babar Azam and Kane Williamson. The tournament offers the next generation to bawl out their skills and talents and to garner attention of the lucrative Cricket Franchises.
Though the tournament may be spruced up for the next big things of the sport but in terms of mainstream hype – not so much. The tournament’s main purpose is to provide a stage for youngsters to shine but the event couldn’t gloss itself to the normal audience of the sport.
