Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has recently revealed his favorites to win the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to be held in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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.
It’s worth noting that India will play all their matches in Dubai, while the rest of the tournament will be played across Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi in Pakistan.
The final is scheduled in Lahore on 9 March, unless India qualify, in which case it will be played in Dubai.
Sourav Ganguly, in a recent interview, picked India as favorites to win the Champions Trophy, owing to their strong performances in the recent ICC events.
“I think India is one of the contenders in the Champions Trophy, especially after their performances in the 50-over World Cup and the T20 World Cup,” said Ganguly.
The former captain noted India’s recent struggles in red-ball cricket but emphasized that they remain a dominant force in white-ball cricket.
“But Test cricket is something they will need to work on, particularly when playing away from home. Rohit, in white-ball cricket, is phenomenal. You will see a different Rohit Sharma once the Champions Trophy starts,” he added.
The Men In Blue are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh. They will kick off their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20.
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah*, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja
*Jasprit Bumrah’s inclusion in the Champions Trophy 2025 squad is subject to his fitness.
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