Champions Trophy, India Preview: Rohit Sharma & Co. Start Favourite As Men In Blue Target Another ICC Title

Last Updated:February 18, 2025, 14:06 IST

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian men’s cricket team, which sits at the No. 1 position in the ODI rankings and is the most successful team in Champions Trophy history, will look to live up to the billing in Dubai.

After ending an 11-year-long wait for an ICC trophy last year, the Indian men’s cricket team embarks on a fresh quest for another global title, at the Champions Trophy 2025, less than 10 months after lifting the T20 World Cup. The marquee event will be played from February 19 to March 9 across three venues in Pakistan and one in Dubai. Due to tense political relations between the two countries, India hasn’t travelled to Pakistan and instead will play all their Group A matches in Dubai.

The Indian men’s cricket team, which sits at the No. 1 position in the ICC ODI rankings, is the most successful side in Champions Trophy history in terms of matches won (18 wins in 29) and trophies (2 titles – joint-most alongside Australia), and in the 10th edition of the Champions Trophy, Rohit Sharma and his men would aim to live up to the hype.

India enter the Champions Trophy 2025 on the back of a 3-0 win over England in a three-match ODI series at home recently. Going by the current form of players and the quality of their opponents, India start the tournament as favourites even though they have a massive Jasprit Bumrah-shaped hole in their squad as the bowler isn’t part of the tournament due to a back injury.

The eight-team tournament, making a comeback after nearly eight years, could well be the last ICC event for India greats Rohit and Virat Kohli, and the duo will be eager to sign off in style.

Injury Setbacks

Star fast bowler Bumrah will miss the Champions Trophy 2025 due to a lower back injury that he suffered while playing for India in the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney last month. He was replaced by Harshit Rana in the squad on February 11. Besides that, there’s no injury concern for the former champions.

History In Champions Trophy

India made it to the semifinals of the Champions Trophy in the inaugural edition (1998) and finished as runners-up in 2000. In the 2002 edition, India were declared the joint-winners with Sri Lanka after the final was washed out two days in a row due to rain in Colombo. India made a group-stage exit in the next three editions (2004, 2006, 2009) of the competition before finally winning the title in 2013 by getting the better of England in the final played at Edgbaston. In the 2017 edition, India suffered a shocking defeat by 180 runs against Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Pakistani team in the summit clash.

Top Players To Watch Out For

Shubman Gill: Shubman Gill has been in red-hot form recently. In the ODI series against England, he scored 87, 60, and 112 runs in three matches.

Mohammed Shami: Shami picked up 24 wickets in seven matches of his last ICC tournament for India, and in Bumrah’s absence, he will lead the bowling attack. Being the seniormost pacer of the side, a lot rests on his experienced shoulders.

Strongest Playing XI

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami

Recent ODI Form (Last Five Matches)

India beat England by 142 runs in Ahmedabad on February 12, 2025.
India beat England by 4 wickets in Cuttack on February 9, 2025.
India beat England by 4 wickets in Nagpur on February 6, 2025.
India lost by 110 runs against Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 7, 2024.
India went down by 32 runs against Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 4, 2024.

Full Squads

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana