Players Missing from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

ICC Champions Trophy has returned after an eight-year hiatus. The host nation Pakistan are the defending champions from 2017. The ICC Champions Trophy is a premier multi-nation event that all top cricket players look forward to but unfortunately injuries can act as a dampener and make them miss the marquee event. 

Here, we take a look at some of the big names missing out from the tournament – 

Patrick Cummins (Australia)

Captain and fast bowler Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy with an ankle injury. He is not just part of their premier pace attack alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood but also a great leader who leads by example and makes vital contributions with the ball as well as the bat. Cummins has played 90 ODI’s and has a bowling average of 28.78 with 143 wickets. His batting cannot be underestimated too as he has scored some memorable cameos to take his side home. Cummins is a very confident batter with the ability to hit big sixes. 

The replacement for the Australian Captain will be named by Cricket Australia in the coming days. Steve Smith will captain the side in his absence. 

Josh Hazlewood (Australia)

This miss is a double blow to the Aussie team as another pacer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy depleting the Aussie bowling attack. 

Hazlewood has been suffering from a calf strain since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and hasn’t recovered yet. He is another massive miss as the fast bowler has been a very important first-change bowler who has the ability to come in and take wickets at tricky moments. The lanky pacer can also be a handy bat in the lower order and can contribute with a vital cameo in a chase. 

Australia will certainly miss an experienced pace bowler who has played 91 One Day International (ODI) matches while taking 138 wickets. 

Mitchell Starc (Australia)

Mitchell Starc has pulled out of the ICC Champions Trophy citing personal reasons. This will mean Australia will have to send a new and inexperienced pace attack to Pakistan. This could have serious repercussions for the Aussies in their quest for the Champions Trophy. 

Starc has been Australia’s leading pacer in all formats  for more than a  decade taking 244 wickets in 127 ODI’s. Starc’s pace and swing at the start of the innings is vital to Australia taking wickets in the power play and putting the opposition on the back foot. 

Whoever comes in as his replacement will have mighty shoes to fill and with all three of their pacers missing,  Australia’s chances of winning the trophy are already looking bleak.Steve Smith will captain the side in his absence.

Mitchell Marsh (Australia)

Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh won’t be playing in the Champions Trophy due to a back injury. Marsh is a vital part of the Australian team in all formats. Though he was out of form in the recently concluded BGT series, limited overs format is where he truly excels. He is a top order batter and a more than useful fast bowler who can bowl in the middle overs. He has a healthy batting average of 35.8 in ODI’s and is a powerful hitter who looks to dominate the bowler and can clear boundaries with ease. As for his bowling, he has taken 57 wickets in 93 matches and has a knack of picking big wickets. 

This is yet another blow to Australia’s chances in the Champions Trophy as finding a replacement for an allrounder is often more difficult. 

Jasprit Bumrah (India)

India’s match winning fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy. It’s a massive blow to the Indian team as Bumrah’s importance to this team cannot be overstated. He is the best bowler in the world right now and missing his presence could be the difference between winning the trophy and losing. 

Bumrah has taken 149 wickets in 89 ODI matches with an economy of 4.59. He is a vital cog in the wheel for Rohit Sharma’s team and can turn the game around at any moment of time. 

India is definitely going to miss their most feared weapon in the Champions Trophy. Harshit Rana has been selected as a replacement for Bumrah.

Saim Ayub (Pakistan)

The Pakistan top order batter is going to miss the Champions Trophy due to a fractured ankle on his right leg that could keep him out of the game for more than 10 weeks as per the update from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). 

The left-handed Ayub made his ODI debut in November last year and has scored an impressive 515 runs from nine matches at an average of 65.38. Ayub also played a crucial role in Pakistan’s ODI series wins over Australia and South Africa, both away from home. 

Even though this is an early phase of his career, he has looked one of the best and most assured of the Pakistan batters which deems this as a huge loss for the host nation. 

Anrich Nortje (South Africa)

The fiery South African pacer Anrich Nortje has also been ruled out of the upcoming Champions Trophy. Cricket South Africa announced last month that he would not be able to recover from a recurring back injury in time for the marquee event. Newcomer Corbin Bosch has been announced as his replacement. 

However, Nortje’s experience and threat is unmatched. Nortje is one of the fastest bowlers in the world who regularly bowls at speeds of 145-150 kmph and can beat the batters with his pace and accuracy. Along with his strike partner, Kagiso Rabada, Nortje is a lethal bowler to face first up. He has an ODI Bowling average of 27.27 with a best figure of 4/51. 

It’s definitely a massive loss for the Proteas who are looking to win their second ICC Tournament since winning the Champions Trophy’s inaugural edition ( formerly known as the ICC Knockout Trophy) back in 1998.

Jacob Bethell (England)

21-year-old English batting allrounder Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to a left hamstring injury suffered during the ongoing bilateral ODI series on the Indian tour. Bethell missed the second ODI in Cuttack, with England captain Jos Buttler saying post-match that he was unlikely to be fit for the Champions Trophy. 

In his fairly new career, he has  played nine ODI matches and has accumulated 218 runs with an average of 31.14. He scored a half-century in the first ODI against India and was looking in good touch. A struggling English side that are trailing 2-0 in the One-day series with one more match to play have lost a dependable middle order batter. 

He has been replaced by Somerset batter Tom Banton who will play in the final ODI against India before going ahead to participate in the Champions Trophy.