The 2009 ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in South Africa from September 22 to October 5. All the matches will be played in two venues — Centurion and Johannesburg — and the eight participating teams have been divided in two groups as follows Group A Pakistan, Australia, India and West Indies; Group B South Africa, New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka.

These eight teams are the eight highest-ranked One-Day International teams  during the last six months, according to the ICC rankings. Undoubtedly, the most important match for viewers in Pakistan and India is the one between the teams of these two countries on September 26, 2009. The match between the arch rivals is a rarity nowadays particularly in a tournament of this magnitude. The other two group games of Pakistan will be on September 23 (against West Indies) and September 30 (against Australia).

 It is hard to predict the winners of this tournament but it seems unlikely that Pakistan will win this tournament. For one, they are in a tough group and teams like Australia and India seem stronger, with Pakistan being sixth in current ICC ODI matches ratings. Though they are the winners of the Twenty20 World Cup, they are not as strong in the 50 over format of the game. They have not done well in the last two One-Day series against Sri Lanka and Australia. Recent changes in the cricket board, the omission of Abdul Razzaq and some changes in the coaching staff have not helped things for them either. And the presence of only one recognised opening batsman, Imran Nazir, in the squad for the tournament has also raised a lot of eyebrows. The presence of Australia and India in their group means that they might not make it even to the semi-finals.

 Though the usual suspects for the winning nation seems to be Australia, South Africa and India, however, both Sri Lanka and New Zealand have done well recently. And then they have the advantage of having played One-Day cricket matches right before the start of the tournament. So it is hard to predict the winner of this tournament. Based on the team strength, form, recent winning record and being placed in a relatively weak group, the relatively safe bet would be on Sri Lanka to win the tournament. They were, after all, runners up in the Twenty20 World Cup.

Australia are in a kind of revival stage with so many changes in the squad and new players coming up. But they always manage to get their act together and perform when it matters. India's got a talented and strong squad, and well-covered in all departments of the game. The IPL seems to have done a lot of good to  improve their domestic players. So they, along with Australia, are among the favourites.

 The old adage of “Never underestimate the host nation” also applies especially when we are talking about a strong team like South Africa. The final may well turn out to be between South Africa and Sri Lanka, and, in my view, the most probable semi-finalists are Australia, India, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The semi-finals are scheduled to be played on October 2 and October 3 with the final, of course, on October 5.

 An important highlight of the squads of some of the participating teams is the return of the players that were banned from international cricket due to their participation in ICL, such as Imran Nazir, Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan, Shane Bond (New Zealand), etc. Muhammad Asif, the fast bowler who was banned, also makes a comeback to International cricket.

 Let us hope and pray that Pakistani team does not disappoint us and manage to win this tournament too. They can get badly beaten in one game but can win the next convincingly. All we need is team unity and discipline, as our team already has a lot of talent. But whatever happens, let us be true cricket lovers and enjoy this tournament to the fullest. Happy watching guys!