CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2025
Dubai, Feb 19: With the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy now underway, tournament favourites India will begin their Group A campaign against Bangladesh under overcast skies at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.
With just two teams each from both groups set to enter the semi-finals, every group stage game is critical for the Rohit Sharma-led side to win and strengthen their chances of winning the title they last held in 2013.
India come on the back of good momentum they got in all aspects of the game while registering a 3-0 ODI series win over England at home. Bangladesh, on the other hand, come as an unfancied side, but have the arsenal in fast bowlers Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed to trouble the Indian batters.
More than the two teams, the pitch in Dubai will be of big interest for fans all over the world. The stadium has hosted a big chunk of cricket games, starting from last year’s Women’s T20 World Cup to Men’s U19 Asia Cup and the ILT20, which means the pitches could be slow in nature.But if ground reports from UAE are to be believed, there are two fresh pitches in Dubai which could be used, meaning that it could offer assistance to pacers early on, before aiding spinners in the middle overs. If that happens, then India’s combination is set for a stern test, especially with them picking five spinners and four fast-bowling options, including Hardik Pandya.
Nevertheless, if India gets going in winning ways against Bangladesh, then it augurs really well for its upcoming clashes against Pakistan and New Zealand. Dubai hasn’t given India the best of memories in ICC events, but it could all change for the better for Rohit & Co from Thursday.
On the other hand,India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday defended picking five spinners in the Champions Trophy squad, saying three of them are all-rounders who add a lot of value to his team.
Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav are the two specialists spinners while the other options in that department are Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, who all are very capable batters.
The spin-heavy side has three fast-bowling options in the form of Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana with Hardik Pandya being the sole pace all-rounder.
“There only two spinners, the rest are all-rounders. They can bat and bowl,” said Rohit when asked about the spin heavy composition of the side.“We play to our strengths. The three all-rounders give a different dimension to the squad, they add a lot to the squad. We wanted to have players with two skills rather than one,” said Rohit ahead of the tournament opener against Bangladesh here.
On the event taking place after eight years, Rohit added: “It is a very important tournament like all ICC events are. We have to do lot of things right to hold the trophy.” Elsewhere, Indian superstar Virat Kohli has always liked the format of Champions Trophy as it demands the eight participating teams to be at their best from the get go.
The Champions Trophy is taking place for the first time since 2017 when India lost the final to Pakistan.
India open their campaign against Bangladesh here on Thursday.“The tournament is happening after a long time. I have always liked this tournament. It represents consistency as you have to be in the top 8 of the rankings (to qualify). The level of competition is always good,” Kohli told Star Sports.
Kohli, who has played three editions of the 50-over event in 2009, 2013 (when India won) and 2017, likened the tournament to the fast-paced T20 World Cup.
“In ODI format, it creates the pressure of a T20 World Cup. There also you have three or four games in the league stage. If you don’t start well, you are under pressure. The pressure is from the first game itself and that is why I like it, you have to be at your best from game one,” said the former India captain.
India will play their remaining league games against Pakistan on February 23 and New Zealand on March 2. While the tournament host is Pakistan, India will be playing all the games in Dubai as part of the event’s hybrid model.
Kohli will be aiming for a bagful of runs in the tournament after a tough Test tour of Australia. He was back amongst the runs in the preceding ODI series against England, scoring a half-century in the final game in Ahmedabad. (PTI)