Champions Trophy squads by Sept 7: ICC

New Delhi: India and nine other competing countries will have to announce their final squads of 14 almost a month before the Champions Trophy begins in India in October.

The 10 countries will have to first announce a list of 30 probables by August 7 before pruning it down to 14 one month later, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has said.

"Teams must nominate an initial player list of 30 players by August 7 and their final squad of 14 by September 7," an ICC official said.

The final 14 will have to be named from among the 30 probables.

The Champions Trophy will be played for the first time in India between October 7 and November 5 - the day Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium hosts the final. The 21 matches will be played in Ahmedabad, Mohali and Jaipur, besides Mumbai.

The 21 matches, all day-night affairs, will be played over 30 days - at the end of which the winning team will take home a cheque of $500,000.

This the first time that the teams - and groupings - have been finalised as per the ICC One-Day Championship Table as on April 1.

The top six countries in the table - 2002 joint winners India, 2000 champions New Zealand, as also Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and England - automatically qualified for the main round of the biennial tournament.

The teams from seventh to 10th places - current holders West Indies, 2002 joint winners Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - will play the qualifying round from October 7-14.

The two top teams from this round will make it to the tournament proper, beginning with the India-England match in Jaipur October 15.

Group A comprises Australia, India, England and the second-placed team in the qualifying round, while Group B has South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and the top team from the qualifying round.

The Champions Trophy was launched in New Delhi April 27 by ICC president Ehsan Mani, who has since completed his term and been replaced by Percy Sonn of South Africa.

India will be hosting an ICC event after 10 years. The previous event was the 1996 World Cup, which India staged along with Sri Lanka and Pakistan.