Virat Kohli of India dances in celebration during the victory ceremony following India's victory in the ICC Champions Trophy Final match between England and India on June 23, 2013 (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
The 2025 Champions Trophy gets underway from the 19th of February when hosts Pakistan clash with New Zealand in Karachi. RG analyses the various teams and examines who are the favourites to win the coveted tournament. Is it India with their breathtaking batting unit? Will the absence of their pace trio hurt Australia badly? Why are New Zealand again the Dark Horse?
India – The Most Complete Batting Unit
India are the best batting unit entering the tournament with the best batting average and strike in ODI cricket since 2023. They are the number one ranked team in the format and in scintillating form having demolished England 3-0 in their last bilateral series at home.
No total is difficult to breach and no chase impossible with the in-form India batting line-up. They have crossed 350 a record 10 times in the last couple of years – the most by any team in the world in this time-frame. Rohit Sharma started a mini revolution at the top of the order in white-ball cricket at the end of 2021 and has remained a force in the shorter formats. Virat Kohli still boasts of the highest average in ODI history while no batter has scored more runs than Shubman Gill since 2023. Shreyas Iyer was at the top of his game in the series against England while Hardik Pandya looks set to provide the sparks in the death overs.
Jasprit Bumrah’s unavailability is indeed a big blow for Team India and he will be missed in crunch situations especially in the knockouts. However, India still have enough firepower in their bowling arsenal to cause significant damage to the opposition. Mohammed Shami is a big wicket-taker in ODI cricket and Arshdeep Singh has the ability to swing the new ball and bowl the yorkers at the death. Kuldeep Yadav has been India’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs since 2023 while Varun Chakravarthy is in the form of his life in limited-overs cricket.
Why is New Zealand the Dark Horse?
New Zealand have this unique ability to raise their game in big ICC events and punch above their weight and that will make them the Dark Horse for the tournament. They have made the semi-final of the three previous 50-over World Cups.
New Zealand would have also got a massive boost from the victory against Pakistan in the final of the tri-series last week. Kane Williamson’s form will augur well for the Kiwis in the tournament. Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell – both excellent players of spin – would be key for New Zealand in the middle overs. Mitchell is the leading scorer for New Zealand in ODIs since 2023 with five hundreds in 30 innings at an average of close to 50 and strike rate of almost 100!
Matt Henry will lead the pace attack and has been New Zealand’s highest wicket-taker in the last couple of years with 39 dismissals in 24 matches at a little less than 25 apiece. Skipper, Mitchell Santner will be key in the middle overs and has also bagged 30 wickets at an economy of 4.76 since 2023.
Absence of Pace Trio Will Hurt Australia, Batting Form Also a Worry
Australia has serious issues in their batting line-up which completely collapsed in their last four ODIs leading to series losses against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Australia has failed to touch 170 even once in these four matches. Their combined batting average is less than 30 and places them at number 8 since the start of 2023. Travis Head will have to do the heavy lifting for Australia at the top of the order. He is their highest impact batter since 2023 with 840 runs in 19 matches at an average of 52.5 and strike rate of 128.
The problem for Australia is that they do not have the fast bowling to cover for the woeful form of their batters. The absence of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will severely hurt their chances at the mega event and put enormous pressure on their spin ace – Adam Zampa. The leg spinner, though, has been in tremendous form in ODI cricket and is Australia’s leading wicket-taker since 2023 with 54 wickets in 32 matches at an average of 28.3.
Home-Advantage for Pakistan?
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam will be key for Pakistan in the top-order – however, this batting line-up team is less dependent on the duo than any time in the recent past. Fakhar Zaman (4 hundreds in last 22 innings) and Salman Agha (Pakistan’s highest scorer in tri-series in February) will be the other batters who could score heavily for Pakistan in the tournament.
But like always, Pakistan’s success and their chances of making the last four will depend on the pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah. Afridi is the leading wicket-taker in ODIs since 2023 with 63 dismissals in just 30 matches while Rauf has been brilliant in the death overs with a strike rate of 13 and economy of 6.5 in this time-frame.
Pakistan have a decent record at home having won 13 of their 19 ODIs since 2021. However, this home-advantage could also turn out to be a big burden for the volatile Pakistan unit. They have a tough start to their campaign and take on New Zealand in the tournament opener – the Kiwis defeated them in the tri-series final last week. A defeat will put enormous pressure on Pakistan and things could go sour very quickly for the hosts.
England Look at Sea in the 50-over Format
England had a horrid 2023 World Cup finishing 7th on the table and have been in poor form in 50-over cricket in the last couple of years. England have just won 14 and lost 20 of their last 35 matches and were thrashed 3-0 by India in their last bilateral series.
The batting is a major cause of concern for England. With the exception of Ben Duckett, none of their other batters average above 40 since 2023. England seemed to have forgotten the art of structuring an innings in 50-over cricket. The combined batting average of their top 6 since 2023 is 35.88 which places them at number 7, just marginally better than Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Nikhil Narain
