In this article, we present to you our preview and predictions for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
The Champions Trophy is back after eight long years, with defending champions Pakistan hosting its ninth iteration. With teams juggling between the T20 format and red-ball cricket, the 50-over format has lost its shine in recent times.
Following the 2023 ODI World Cup in India less than 15 months ago, the top-eight nations in ODI cricket will now square off against each other for a chance to lift the ICC Champions Trophy.
Preview
The eight teams participating in this tournament are divided into two groups: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand make up Group A, while Australia, England, Afghanistan, and South Africa make up Group B.
During the 2023 ODI World Cup, Australia, India, New Zealand, and South Africa made it to the last four, while last year’s T20 World Cup saw Afghanistan and England go deep and India and South Africa contesting the final. Thus, unlike any of its previous iterations, this year’s Champions Trophy doesn’t have one clear favourite, with many teams having come close recently to winning the ultimate prize.
With less than three weeks remaining until Pakistan and New Zealand kick off proceedings in Karachi, most of the frontrunners are shaping up in the best way possible.
England are touring India for five T20Is and three ODIs. Pakistan recently concluded their two-Test series against the West Indies at home and will welcome South Africa and New Zealand for a tri-series before the Champions Trophy. Afghanistan also recently concluded their tour of Zimbabwe, while Australia are currently touring Sri Lanka for two Tests and two ODIs.
All eight teams have hardly played any ODI cricket since the 2023 World Cup and are now making last-minute adjustments to fine-tune their squads ahead of the Champions Trophy.
Predictions
Best Batter: Travis Head
No one has been as influential as Travis Head since he made his comeback into the Australian playing XI in March 2022. The 31-year-old has been one of the most consistent players across all three formats. He was the lead catalyst in Australia’s victories against South Africa and India in the 2023 CWC knockouts, winning the Man of the Match award in both the semi-final and the final. Similarly, it was his 163 in the World Test Championship final against India that helped Australia win the title in 2023.
In crucial situations and against quality opposition, there are few better than Head at the moment. During Australia’s last ODI series against England, the South Australian scored 248 runs at a strike rate of 121, averaging over 82. Similarly, in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where batters found it incredibly difficult to score, Head ended the series as the highest scorer with 448 runs, including two match-winning hundreds.
If Australia are to win another ICC tournament under Pat Cummins’s leadership, Head will definitely have a big say in it.
Best Bowler: Jasprit Bumrah
India are very lucky to have someone like Jasprit Bumrah in their corner. There’s not one bowler in world cricket right now who is as effective as the 31-year-old pacer. If not for his back spasm that ruled him out of the last innings during the Sydney Test, there’s every chance India could have won that game despite setting a modest total. Declared fit to play in the Champions Trophy, India will be counting on their ace bowler to lead the charge in Dubai.
Due to the political rift between Pakistan and India, the latter will play all their matches in the UAE, including both the semi-final and the final if they go that far. Bumrah was the standout bowler during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, picking up 32 wickets. He also has an exceptional record in ODIs, having picked up 149 wickets in just 89 matches with an economy rate of 4.60. Thus, looking at how the wickets in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium have played out in the last year or so, Bumrah is likely to find a lot of joy bowling in such conditions.
Emerging Player: Allah Ghazanfar
Allah Ghazanfar has been a revelation since bursting onto the scene during the U19 World Cup in South Africa last year. The 18-year-old is the latest to join the long lineage of exceptional spin bowlers coming out of Afghanistan.
Since arriving onto the international stage, the right-arm off break mystery bowler has been really difficult to go after, and his variations and trickery mean batters often go out playing the false shot. In his 11-match long ODI career, Ghazanfar has already picked up 21 wickets, including two fifers while going for just 4.05 runs per over.
Although pitches in Pakistan have traditionally assisted seam bowlers, there has always been something in it for spinners. Moreover, looking at Afghanistan’s opponents in Group B, Ghazanfar is surely one to look out for throughout the group stage.
Worst Team: Bangladesh
Once striving to break into the big boys’ pack, Bangladesh have been slowly slipping into an era they fought so hard to get out of. Since making the semi-finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy in England, it has been a downward spiral for the Bengal Tigers. They were thoroughly outplayed by the big sides in both the 2023 CWC and the 2024 T20 World Cup, all the while teams below them have been breathing down their necks.
Bangladesh recently played two ODI series, against the West Indies and Afghanistan, and lost both of them. They won only one game out of six and were found lacking in all three aspects of the game. Paired with the likes of India, Pakistan, and New Zealand in Group A, Bangladesh’s odds of making the semis are rather slim.
Favourites: Australia
The 2023 ODI World Cup winners walk into this year’s Champions Trophy as favourites ahead of the likes of India, Pakistan, and South Africa. There’s no doubt that this Australian side has flaws, but after a very long time they have a batting lineup that will be firing on all cylinders. Their recent BGT series win against India saw a lot of their batters find form at the right time.
With bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, and skipper Pat Cummins, Australia have the bowling unit to challenge any opposition. It is their batting unit that has at times lost the plot and collapsed without any warning. The first two games in the 2023 CWC league stage and the series loss against Pakistan in November that saw Harris Rauf become a nightmare for the Aussie batters are some examples. However, these issues have been put to bed of late, with many of their key batters returning to form, including the likes of Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschange, and Glenn Maxwell.
With their know-how of winning the ICC tournaments, it is very difficult to look past Australia as the early favourites.
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