There were a lot of talks if India were going to travel for the Champions Trophy to Pakistan or would they boycott it. Indians being not there would have certainly dented Pakistan's hope of attracting the audience or the revenue. Indians are a powerhouse of World Cricket and they certainly showed that when they made sure all their games are played at Dubai including the finals if they make it turning this into a hybrid model.
All the political tension is a thing of the past now and we are back to business. Indians have named a pretty strong squad and will look to go one better than what they did in the last edition. India start as firm favourites going into the competition. Winning the T20 WC has broken their jinx of winning an ICC trophy now.
India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Strengths:
If we look at that squad, there is nothing that you can point out which can be considered as a weak link. Rohit Sharma and Shubhman Gill are a pair nobody wants to bowl to at the start of the innings. Followed by the king himself Virat Kohli who has achieved everything there was to achieve in Cricket except an IPL Trophy but he can be excused for not winning it. The emperor has given enough for the nation to celebrate. This might be his one final dance in an ICC event. Hardik Pandya being fit is an asset to any team. His dual role can be a blessing for the team. When it comes to bowling, they have rejuvenated Varun and Kuldeep to spin the web around any opposition. Shami, Arshdeep and Harshit Rana forms a potent attack.
Weakness:
The biggest miss when you see the squad is a certain Jasprit Bumrah who bowls those clutch spells whenever needed at his will. He provided that cushion at the death where he could defend even 7-8 in the final over by nailing those yorkers with pinpoint accuracy. Other than Bumrah, if there's anything that can beat India is their complacency. They produce flawless cricket throughout the tournament but there are small intervals when they lose their concentration and play horrendous cricket especially in the knockouts. India needs to be wary of complacency.
Player to watch out for:
Hardik Pandya:
There is no player in that line up who can have an impact as much as Hardik Pandya. Pandya, be it with bat and ball has the tendency to make things happen. His street smartness allows him to take extra ordinary decisions which to the naked eye doesnt seem convincing but helps the team yield great results. More than Hardik the bowler, Indian team would need Hardik d finisher to step up during the crucial stages. Indians are missing a finisher for a long time now. They are so dependent on the top 3 that if at all they fail the whole batting order gets exposed.
Predictions:
Indians are strong favourites to win the Champions Trophy and there's a reason for it. They have all the bases covered and look all set to win the title. They will be facing Australia or South Africa in the semis which can be a challenging game for them but if they manage to win their semis, there's no reason why they cannot win the title as they have an advantage of playing all their games at a single venue without travelling anywhere. Other teams have to play atleast 2 of their games in Pakistan and then travel to Dubai to play India which might cause a lot of fatigue. If Indians are not complacent in the knock-outs they are surely winning the title.
