The highly-anticipated ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled to begin with the match between Pakistan and New Zealand on February 19, 2025. Only the teams finishing in top-8 in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup are playing in this eight-team tournament. So every team is in this tournament on merit. That’s why this is a tough tournament. It’s like a knockout competition as even on defeat can knock a team out of the competition. That said, some teams will definitely start the tournament with the “favorite tag”.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Michael Clarke picks his favorite teams
Former Australia cricketer Michael Clarke has also sounded off on the tournament and which teams are likely to go the distance. The 2015 World Cup winner highlighted India as a team to beat in the upcoming tournament. While speaking on a Beyond 23 Podcast, Clarke said that India is amongst the most complete team, with their depth in the batting and the quality spinners giving them a substantial edge over other teams.
“The Indian team is a very strong team. They have great batsmen and excellent spinners. The pitch in Dubai will be different. Rohit Sharma has come into great form. Hardik Pandya is a great all-rounder. The Indian team is a very good team in ODIs. This is a format in which it is difficult for other teams to defeat the Indian team,” Clarke said.
India will definitely be amongst the favorite team to win the coveted title. The Men In Blue are in red-hot form at the moment and will arrive in the tournament off the back of a dominant 3-0 win over England in the recently concluded ODI series.
Australia remains a big threat
One thing that can’t be overstated is Australia in big tournaments. Even in the past when they missed big players, like Shane Warne missing the 2003 ODI World Cup, the Aussies won the big tournaments. This time around the current holder of the 50-over world cup will be without a host of stars such as Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Still, they are a big threat.
“Even though the key players of the Australian team are injured, the team still has great players. There is Travis Head, who is definitely very important for Australia in this tournament. On the other hand, Steve Smith is captaining. Australia is still a strong team,” Clarke added.
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