The former Indian opening batter, Sunil Gavaskar, has selected his favorite team for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to begin on February 19 as the blue brigade will play all of their games at the Dubai International Stadium from February 20 against Bangladesh, while the rest of the event will be played in Pakistan.
All the teams, apart from the hosts, have announced their official squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, as India became the latest where they left out Mohammad Siraj, the veteran pacer, and denied Karun Nair despite his rich form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.
Rohit Sharma will be the captain of the squad, while the youngster of their batting department, Shubman Gill, has been given the vice-captaincy of the side. Senior batters like Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant have strengthened their line-up for the Champions Trophy.
Sunil Gavaskar picks Pakistan as the favorite to win the Champions Trophy 2025
The only concern for the blue brigade is the fitness of their premier pace bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, who will be undergoing a scan on February 02 while he is expected to confirm the match fitness during the third of the three-match ODI series against England at home. Mohammad Shami, who was out of action for more than a year due to his knee injury, has returned to the T20I. But, the eyes will also be on his spot.
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The former Indian captain and the opening batter of the side, Sunil Gavaskar, has picked the hosts, Pakistan, as the favorites to win the Champions Trophy 2025. They are already the defending champions of the event, having earned the trophy in 2019 when they beat the blue brigade at the Kennington Oval in South London.
The Mohammad Rizwan-led side is in excellent touch with their away ODI series victory in Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, which was whitewashed for the very first time at home in an ODI series. They will face New Zealand and the Proteas at home in a tri-series in preparation for the ICC event before opening the competition against the Kiwis.
The 75-year-old reckoned that the performance of any side is strong at home, and that’s why he has gone with Pakistan as the potential winner of the Champions Trophy 2025.
“The tag of favourites should be given to the home team Pakistan, as it’s not easy to beat any team in their home conditions. India lost in the final of the ODI World Cup 2023, but before that, they put up clinical performances and won ten matches on the trot. Hence, I feel Pakistan is the favorite for the upcoming tournament.” The former Indian batter and opening batter expressed this during an interaction on Star Sports.
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Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Lahore will host most of the games, while the high-voltage clash between the two subcontinent arch-rivals will happen in Dubai. Just like India, there are injury concerns for the green brigade before the Champions Trophy.
Their young left-handed opening batter, Saim Ayub, in an aim to stop the ball in the boundary cushion, injured his ankle during the second Cape Town Test at Newlands. He had surgery as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been sweating for his fitness. Ayub had a huge contribution with the bat in the side’s series victory in South Africa. It will be a massive blow if he misses the upcoming event.