India, the finalist in the most recent ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the reigning ICC Men’s T20 World Cup champion, will look to make an impact in the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy. They begin their campaign against Bangladesh, aiming to start strong and set the tone for the tournament.
Having previously won the Champions Trophy in 2002 (co-winners with Sri Lanka) and 2013, India is no stranger to success in this competition. However, this time, Rohit Sharma’s side will be without their premier fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, and has instead banked heavily on their spin attack to deliver results.
Their opponents, Bangladesh, are also well-equipped with quality spinners and have a history of surprising strong teams in major tournaments. The Tigers will draw inspiration from their famous 2007 World Cup victory over India and will rely on their experienced players to step up on Thursday.
India’s Squad for the Champions Trophy 2025
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Players: Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
Recent Form – India
India enters the tournament in red-hot form, coming off a dominant 3-0 ODI series victory against England. Before that, they convincingly won a five-match T20I series 4-1 against the same opposition. These recent performances, all within the last month, should give them plenty of confidence heading into the tournament.
Recent Form – Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s recent form is more inconsistent. They haven’t played international cricket since December, when they toured the West Indies. There, they suffered a 3-0 defeat in the ODI series but bounced back by winning all three T20Is. In November, Bangladesh toured the UAE, where they lost an ODI series 2-1 against Afghanistan.
Match Preview
With India in fine form and Bangladesh having had a long break from competitive cricket, the Men in Blue will start as favorites. However, Bangladesh’s ability to cause upsets and their strong spin attack could make things interesting.
Can India’s spin-heavy strategy pay off, or will Bangladesh spring another surprise? We’ll find out when the two teams clash in their tournament opener.
