Dubai: In an earlier avatar, the Champions Trophy brought the best eight teams together in a snappy 50-over knockout tournament, the proceeds from which were meant to bolster the coffers of the 'smaller' cricket-playing nations so that they could put organised domestic structures and infrastructure in place.

Bangladesh and then Kenya hosted the ICC KnockOut Trophy in 1998 and 2000 respectively when, for some reason, the International Cricket Council chose to take a different route. From 2002, the Champions Trophy became a league-cum-knockout competition, not quite cannibalising the ODI World Cup but not living up to its name either.

Seemingly destined to be consigned to history, the tournament received a fillip when India triumphed in 2013 and Pakistan followed suit four years later at India's expense, both in England. Nearly eight years on, the Champions Trophy heralds the return of Pakistan as an ICC tournament host after 29 years, a shot in the arm for a nation shunned by top cricketing nations for nearly a decade after a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

The Indian government's refusal of permission for its team to travel to Pakistan necessitated a hybrid model like at the 2023 Asia Cup, when too Pakistan were the hosts and India played their matches in Sri Lanka. This time, Pakistan reluctantly agreed to the proposal only after eking out the assurance that in future ICC events to be staged in India, they will also only play at a neutral venue. Consequently, while the rest of the competition will be held in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore, India will play their three league fixtures (and the semifinal and the final if they get there) in Dubai.

Frenzied last-minute finishing touches so typical of the subcontinent to the three centres in Pakistan out of the way, the stage is set for 'Play' to be called in Karachi on Wednesday when the hosts take on New Zealand. Just last week, the Kiwis routed Pakistan in the final of a triangular tournament that included South Africa and will take confidence into the match. How much that feelgood will count for remains to be seen.

As the primary host, Pakistan will have a definite edge in terms of familiarity with conditions and home support, but that won't necessarily make the defending champions the overwhelming favourites. Indeed, no team can claim that status, though the temptation to push India to the top of that list lingers even in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the best all-format bowler by a distance.

Bumrah's unavailability greatly levels the playing field though even without him, Rohit Sharma possesses the resources to go all the way. Reiteration came last week when India completed a commanding 3-0 rout of England in their first 50-over outings since last August. Rohit's return to run-making ways is a welcome development, given how reliant the team has been on its captain for blistering, statement-making knocks in the last two years.

England are grappling with heavy criticism following their seemingly lacklustre approach to training during their white-ball tour of India while South Africa, having discovered consistency across formats, will miss the speedy duo of Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee.

No one has been hit harder by absentees than Australia, the defending 50-over World Cup champions and South Africa's opponents in the World Test Championship final. Skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh are all out injured, Marcus Stoinis recently announced his retirement from international cricket and Mitchell Starc was a late pullout citing 'personal reasons'. To compound matters, Steve Smith's men were recently routed in Colombo by a Sri Lankan side that hasn't even qualified for the Champions Trophy. But anyone who discounts Australia's chances in a major event does so at their own peril, right?