Australia captain Steve Smith admitted on Tuesday that the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 would be on their minds when they play Sri Lanka in two ODIs this week.
The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on 19 February with host and defending champions Pakistan taking on New Zealand in the curtain-raiser in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.
Australia are placed in a group with England, South Africa and Afghanistan.
Prior to that Australia will face Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday and Friday, fresh from a dominant 2-0 Test series sweep.
“I’d be lying if I said the Champions Trophy wasn’t at the forefront of our minds — it’s a massive ICC tournament for us,” Steve Smith told reporters in Colombo.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
“While our focus is firmly on finishing this series on a strong note, there is no denying that the Champions Trophy is looming large. We want to make sure we carry good form into that competition.”
Both ODIs will be played as day games, a rarity in modern cricket. The floodlights in Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium are out of action as part of renovations ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted with India.
“Day games are quite different,” Smith said, adding he couldn’t remember his last ODI day match. “But whatever the conditions, it’s going to be warm out there, and we’re looking forward to the challenge”.
Before coming to Sri Lanka, Australia held a training camp in Dubai to prepare for “challenging wickets” in Sri Lanka, said Smith.
“The batters found methods to succeed in these conditions, the spinners worked on varying their pace, and the seamers fine-tuned their reverse swing,” he said. “We hope to bring all that into this series and finish well.”
READ: Hanif Mohammad to be posthumously inducted into PCB Hall of Fame