The unofficial Third Wheel of ICC Cups, the Champions Trophy, makes a comeback after a hiatus of 8 years, particularly capturing the chaos of subcontinental cricket, which seemed to lay dormant for the past decade.
For starters, this will be the first ICC tournament hosted by Pakistan in 28 years. As soon as the above was announced, the cricketing world knew that changes would be made eventually, and thus, we have UAE as Co-hosts for the upcoming tournament, which starts on 19th February.
Pakistan have lived up to their capricious identity over the past 12 months, and what better way to continue this tradition than replicating its heroics in Cardiff? Or will it be their neighbours who are probably the favourites, yet the wounds of November 19 are afresh?
One, of course, cannot overlook the SENA nations, with 3 of them being cluttered in the so-called “group of death”. Or will the 21st-century test debuting Nations spring the surprise of this century?
To find out more, check our detailed preview of the tournament.
Venue Report
UAE has been the 2nd hosting plan of every tournament host if there’s some emergency issue within the initial hosting country, the same goes here. Since Nov 2021, when ICC announced that Pakistan would host the Champions Trophy, almost everyone knew it would never happen, at least not fully in Pakistan. The saga happened as anticipated by almost everyone; from Dec 2024 to Jan 2025, rumours were floating around the hosts, but in the end, UAE was announced as the co-host for the tournament.
If you are a person who does not believes in data, you may conclude that as both of the hosts are Asian countries, the pitches would almost be the same, although that’s not even true by a millimetre; Pakistan has the worst bowling average of all countries since 2023, whereas the co-hosting nation has the best, and if you go particularly by the spin bowling average, the case remains exactly the same though with a significantly higher difference between the averages.
India Champions Trophy Squad Preview
Squad Changes: Harshit Rana in place of Bumrah, Varun Chakarvarthy in place of Jaiswal
India are all set to kick off their Champions Trophy campaign in Dubai. Unlike the past decade, where they often entered the tournament with the best squad but no title to show, this time, they carry newfound optimism of finally breaking their World Cup jinx. However, their preparations have been anything but ideal, with a humbling home series loss to New Zealand followed by a disappointing tour of Australia, where the team looked toothless and struggled for answers.
To make matters worse, the dressing room dynamics have been more turbulent than in recent years. The futures of two stalwart Indian cricketers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, are expected to be heavily influenced by the outcome of this Champions Trophy.
Rohit Sharma is set to lead the Men in Blue, and while the squad is largely as expected, one major omission stands out—Mohammed Siraj. Despite being India’s second-best pacer after Jasprit Bumrah, the captain has opted for Arshdeep Singh instead, believing that Siraj’s impact diminishes significantly after the new ball loses its shine.
Another major concern for India is its unsettled middle order. The combination of Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 and KL Rahul at No. 5 was instrumental in India’s World Cup campaign, allowing Iyer to play with freedom while Rahul provided stability. However, the inclusion of Rishabh Pant could disrupt this balance. It remains to be seen whether Pant will replace Iyer, who now only features in ODIs, or if he will take Rahul’s spot at No. 5. Rahul’s ability to build an innings and anchor the middle order has been a crucial dynamic for India.
Following them, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya will take their places as all-rounders, but another pressing issue is the lack of a designated finisher. Pandya and Jadeja seem more comfortable pacing their innings rather than taking on the finisher’s role, leaving India searching for a player who can take the game on in the latter stages.
The biggest question mark, however, remains the form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Rohit appears to be in trouble, struggling to find rhythm despite trying different approaches to regain form. Conversely, Kohli has become a predictable target for bowlers, with familiar weaknesses being repeatedly exposed.
Strengths
Bowling at the death: India has been the most successful team at the death since 2023 with an economy of just 6.55 in the death overs; the side has been consistently able to restrict oppositions to low scores by blocking out the final phase of the game, where teams tend to go hard and make full use of their range and t20 experience.
Rock solid middle order: While many might question the management’s decision to have Pant on the bench and the lack of an LHB in the top 5, the middle order has undoubtedly been one of India’s major strengths. With an average of 48.79 between overs 11-40, the likes of Kohli and Shreyas, followed by Rahul, have been both able to rack up high scores with a softer ball and easing field restrictions while also having enough force to up the ante and take the game on or keep up with an asking rate. With Hardik Pandya back in the team, along with Axar Patel potentially being another option, this middle order is stronger than ever.
Weaknesses
Lack of LHB in Top 5: Wrist spinners will look to make full use of the helpful conditions they are handed, and team India is making things easier for the opposition with no left-handed batsmen in the top 5. With Rahul being picked over Pant and a top 5 that is unlikely to change, teams will not need to look well past their wrist spinners for solutions to India’s formidable middle order. While Axar Patel is an option, his uncertainty in whether he cements a starting spot and other spinners competing with him would mean that Jadeja at 7 could be the first and only left-handed batsman for this otherwise formidable batting lineup.
Unsettled Bowling Lineup: While losing the best bowler of the present would hurt any team, India is in a trickier situation with their untested pace lineup. Siraj, who has taken a bulk of the responsibility in the absence of Bumrah, is also not there. Harshit Rana, who is far from a like-to-like replacement, will have to cover up.
Coming back from a long injury, Shami has proven to be inconsistent at best, with his recent bowling all over the place. He might not maintain his place as a second-change bowler, where he found immense success in the World Cup and might have to start with a new ball this time. Arshdeep and Harshit Rana have shown immense potential and ability to adapt and deliver to the situation but have been largely untested, which is always a sign of worry when going into an overseas tournament. However, the return of Hardik Pandya would put some minds at ease, as the team will have a dependable face to rely on.
Australia Champions Trophy Squad Preview
Squad Changes: Cummins, Hazlewood, Marsh, Stoinis and Starc Out
Tanveer Sangha, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Jonhson In
That night of 19 November still aches the hearts of over a billion Indian fans. The absolute carnage produced by Australia in each department (be it batting, bowling or fielding) was more than enough to stop the winning trot of the men in blue.
Kangaroos is the best team to have played this format, already winning 8 titles, including 6 ODI World Cups and 2 Champions Trophies (the only team to defend their title as they won in consecutive tournaments in 2006 and 2009).
Australia has played 11 ODI games since the final in Ahmedabad and has won 7 of them. Although they recently lost the ODI series against Pakistan, they have won the other two bilaterals. Just a week before the Champions Trophy, they also have an ODI series scheduled against Sri Lanka.
Coming to the squad, Australia is yet to find a perfect opening partner for Travis Head. Matthew Short opened in the 3-match series against Pakistan but was able to aggregate just 42 runs.
The core strength that gives them an edge over other teams is the quality of the rounders they have. Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell are their primary all-rounders, alongside Aaron Hardie. Marcus, Head and Smudge can bowl spin whenever needed, and Captain Cummins’s batting abilities have also been proven. His role in the match against Afghanistan (Maxwell’s masterclass) was clear evidence of this.
Nathan Ellis played his last ODI game before the World Cup but was named in Australia’s squad for the upcoming tournament. Adam Zampa (their only spinner) is the highest wicket-taker with 15 scalps post-World Cup 2023.
Strengths
Multidimensional Bowling Unit: The Australian captain will face the problem of plenty while opting for the bowler for each over. They have many options (even of various kinds) in the bowling department. Australia might play with 4 proper bowlers, along with Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie and Matthew Short playing the role of 5th bowler. Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith and Travis Head can also roll their arms whenever required.
Travis Head: The man behind Australia’s heroics in their previous 2 championship wins, Travis Head is the major individual strength for Australia. He will give you explosive starts (he has the best strike rate of 107 in powerplay), will take the game forward and will win you matches on his own. Head is also a handy bowler, and his fielding needs no introduction.
Weaknesses
Injury Concerns: Australia’s fast-bowling trio is considered the best across formats. They have the Pacers, who can bowl in any phase of the game and change the match’s momentum in just a few overs. However, losing their star bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to injury may prove to be a major setback for Australia. Also, their star all-rounder will miss the tournament due to a lower back injury. Marcus Stoinis was also named in the 15-member squad but announced his retirement later, and to add more drama to all these, Mitchell Starc took his name out of the Champions Trophy.
Middle Order Batting: The game boasts in the powerplay, and the finishing touches are provided in the death, but the role of middle overs is quite crucial too. Australia’s middle order comprises Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis and others. This might look good on paper but is not backed by the data, as Australia averages the worst (28.09) in the middle-overs phase since Jan 2023. (graph shown in the India section)
Bangladesh Champions Trophy Squad Preview
15/06/2017 was a day when Bangladesh was completely outplayed by its neighbours and knocked out of the 2017 Champions Trophy. Despite the humiliating loss, the date also marked the first time Bangladesh reached the Semis of an ICC tournament.
It was another stepping stone in Bangladesh’s journey of breaking the shackles of the term underdogs. However, that journey has turned into a trainwreck this decade, with them having the 2nd worst W/L ratio amongst the participating nations since 2020.
Moreover, for the first time in what feels like an eternity, Bangladesh won’t be with their face of the sport, Shakib Al Hasan, for the upcoming ICC tournament, with the official reason stated to be his inability to bowl due to a ban on the basis of illegal action. Accompanying him will be players such as Liton Das and Shoriful Islam, who once seemed to be amongst the few promising white ball cricketers of the country but are now out of the top 15 ODI players of the country.
Shanto is back in the team as captain after missing the previous five ODIs due to a hamstring pull. Soumya Sarkar, who has been brought back into the scheme of things due to his ball-striking ability, has been indirectly confirmed as one of the openers in Pakistan. Veterans Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah retain their spots; however, it seems as if the pace contingent may just be their brightest hope. Taskin and Mustafizur have been around for a long time, whereas Tanzim Hasan impressed everyone in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The country’s overall instability over the past few months seems to be reflected in the nation’s national side. At such a crossroad, this just might be the most important tournament in Bangladesh Cricket’s history.
Strengths
Pace Attack: Spearheaded by the duo of Mustafizur Rahman and Taksin Ahmed, along with the young madcap Tanzim, the current pace corp is by far the finest in Bangladesh’s history. Bangladeshi Pacers have the 3rd best average and 2nd best economy in this decade among the participating nations of CT25. Although conditions may favour the spinners as the tournament progresses, a good pace unit is lethal in any whatsoever circumstances.
Experienced Campaigners: Other than the recurring presence of Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur, bowling spearheads Mustafizur and Taskin have also been in the ODI circuit for over 10 years. This is reflected in the fact that the Bangladeshi Probable XI has the most List A games played amongst the CT 25 squads.
Weaknesses
Fragile Top Order: Not only have Bangladesh been unsuccessful in utilising the Powerplay field restrictions, but they have also failed to safeguard their wickets. Their powerplay average of 22 since 2023 is the worst. Even more concerning is the fact that this average falls to 13 when there’s a left-arm angle. With Shaheen and Arshdeep in Group B, Bangladesh would hope the re-inclusion of Soumya Sarkar may bring a change in fortune at the top.
Inefficient with the bowl in middle overs: One of the major reasons for Bangladesh’s inability to contain their opposition despite an improved pace attack is their lack of wicket-taking bowlers in the middle overs, especially the 11-25 overs phase. The team’s average of 61.94 in this phase is the worst since 2023.
Lacklustre Finishing: Former assistant coach Nic Pothas generated a buzz with his comments circling how genetics limit the Bangladeshi batter’s ability to hit sixes. Now, the cause could be true or not, but his diagnosis of the issue was correct, which has led to inefficient finishes at the death.
With a Strike rate of 111.78 since 2023 in overs 41-50 (2nd worst), they also have the worst six/match ratio in this period.
Pakistan Champions Trophy Squad Preview
“One minute down, next minute up” sums up the team we are talking about; Pakistan cricket team, amid all the chaos and controversies, will be a strong contender for the Champions Trophy. Defending champions will also host this elite competition this time; they will be hosting an ICC event after a long, long time. In the recent past, Pakistan has won 2 series, which were very unlikely to be won by them vs South Africa and Australia at their respective home conditions. Mohammad Rizwan has been leading the team brilliantly off-late, with the team looking reunited under him. Pakistan will have one problem: to outscore big teams like New Zealand and India. Pakistan will be among the top 3 favourites to win the tournament. The last time Pakistan played for the Champions trophy, they won it by upsetting their arch-rivals at the oval against the odds; this time, we will also see them competing hard to retain the trophy.
Pakistan announced their squad late among all the teams in the competition, and as per the sources, it is due to the lack of clarity regarding Saim Ayub’s injury, the batter who has looked the best of the lot in Pakistan currently.
The combination of the Pakistan team will be built on Pacers, i.e. Shaheen, Naseem and Haris, alongside many part-time spin options as they have gone only with 1 one-out spinner in Abrar. Babar Azam will most likely Open for them, and this can be a pretty good move because Pakistan pitches won’t have that much juice in them, especially in a 50-over game, and Babar Azam has a very good game of finding gaps and hitting fours along the carpet, Babar averages 56 in ODIs nothing more to say about him in the format though his form off-late has been pretty concerning as it’s been around 2 1.5 years since the ace batter has got a ton. Mohammad Rizwan will be the key accumulator. Fakhar is back on the side and will bring explosiveness to the top. Kamran Ghulam will control the middle order as he has since his debut recently. Salman Agha has got the vice-captaincy and will work as an all-rounder for them. Faheem Ashraf and Khushdil Shah are pretty surprising picks by the team, especially Faheem Ashraf, as he has been totally average in the last 20-odd matches for Pakistan and last appeared in 2023.
Strengths
Pace Trinity: Pakistan from the eternity is known for having ‘Fast bowlers’; the modern Pakistan attack has 3 very quick and sharp fast bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, the pace Trio of Pakistan. All three of them have different skill sets and bowling styles; Shaheen Shah Afridi is one of those threatening left-arm new ball bowlers that every team want at the front, the inswingers, the yorkers, and the bouncers all along with a 3/4th seam ball going away from the righty, on the other side Naseem Shah is also a very fine prospect who has got swing with pace and can also reverse the ball at times, fitness has been major concern for him and the fastest of them Haris Rauf known for generating extra bounce and pace who can bowl at death with his sharp yorkers.
Home Conditions: As the host nation, Pakistan will get the clear-cut advantage of playing at their den as they will be known to all the conditions, pitches and the crowd support will also be amazing. The host nation has a W/L Ratio of 2.800 this decade and a phenomenal win percentage of 70.
Weaknesses
Spin Bowling: As the conditions will be flat, dry, slow, and ultimately, all the games are to be played in Asia only so, it will be very important for the spinners to perform, but what if a team chooses only 1 specialist spinner in their squad, that’s what the Hosts have done, though they have got plenty of Part-timers in their Squad or XI, the role of specialist in ODI Cricket is very important nowadays also. A good wicket-taking spinner can change the course of action anytime.
Lack of Batting Depth: As we have seen, modern-day ODI or white-ball cricket wants the lower order to contribute and win games or create some impact, giving the team momentum. Pakistan has Naseem and Shaheen as two batters who can hold the bat in the lower order, but the probability of them working as batters is almost negligible. They have a reliable batter at 7, where their whole batting ends.
South Africa Champions Trophy Squad Preview
Squad Changes: Anrich Nortje Ruled Out
It took 23 years for South Africa to win their first-ever World Cup knockout game and another 8 years to reach their first-ever World Cup final. Although the historical relevance of the Champions Trophy is smaller and the fact that Proteas were inaugural winners of this tournament, the desire and hunger, or should I say the desperation to end starvation, will stay the same for the ever-evolving Green and gold-wearing rainbow nation.
Cricket South Africa has shown some enormous improvisation since 2023, World Cup semis, SA20, T20 World Cup final and qualification to the World Test Championship. However, these recent developments came at a serious cost of disaster fast bowling fitness. At present, there are 3 three-line line South African fast bowlers out of contention due to injury: Anrich Nortje, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams and Gerald Coetzee, in doubt for the tournament, while Lungi Ngidi will be making a comeback after a long duration.
South Africa is also placed in a group of death for this event, along with Australia, England, and Afghanistan, which recently defeated them in a bilateral ODI series for the first time.
The overall team setup looks similar to the last World Cup, and the team will also play its games in batting-friendly conditions that suit its strengths. Most experts and fans also expect the Proteas to go further than the group stages, but in the end, the question mark will stay afloat unless and until a South African skipper lifts the trophy in his hands.
Strengths
Fine Finish: Start slow, Finish harder has been a template for recent one-day success of Proteas. It’s an old-school one-day method but works effectively for a lineup that has some of the most modernised whiteball players. This form of batting display has given them double the results when batting first. South Africa has a win/loss ratio of 2 while batting first since 2023, with an average of 41 and a scoring rate of 6.31. While batting second, the W/L ratio drops to 0.7, the batting average drops to 29, and the RPO is 5.7, showing what difference the ability to be able to finish on your own terms brings to this team. Some notable performances of their strong finishes include scoring 428 against Sri Lanka in the World Cup, with 222 of those runs coming in the last 20 overs; 416 versus Australia in centurion, where South Africa tripled their 25th over a score by the 48th over and added 56 runs further!!
Powerplay Bowling: Despite having a depleted bowling attack, South Africa still holds the best powerplay bowling attributes in One Days. Their new ball bowlers from the red ball format also pair up in the 50-over games. Averaging close to 30 runs and 35 balls per wicket in powerplay, South Africa is second only to India in this phase of bowling. At times, they’ve gone for tremendous amounts of runs, but the ability to produce wickets from anywhere in the first half of innings has done wonders for Proteas. In some games in the recent past, especially while defending totals, South Africa pulled the balance in their favour within just the first 15-20 overs of the innings. The World Cup games against England and New Zealand & the one-day series against Australia just before that are some examples of the Powerplay havoc South Africa can produce.
Weaknesses
Chasing: Switch the result on the toss, make Proteas bat 2nd and watch all their strength polarise. England and Ireland are the only test-playing nations with worse W/L ratios than South Africa while chasing in ODIs since 2023. Even the Netherlands and Bangladesh have performed better in chases than the men in Green and Gold. The nation that holds the record for the highest-ever one-day chase, highest-ever t20i chase and 2nd second-highest test run chase can no longer hold their nerves even in the simplest of targets, which was evident even in the T20 World Cup. The problem is simple: South African batters are just unable to break the fielding team’s momentum once they have halted their top order. The likes of Klaasen and Miller do possess the temperament to deal with it, but they have often been left alone. South Africa has a history of top-order batters who were unable to deal with big games in the past, and it needs to be broken. The inclusion of Ryan Rickelton as an opener, who seems to follow free-flowing cricket even in crunch moments, as we saw in the SA20 final, can be a ray of hope.
Pace Bowling Depth: South Africa has undoubtedly the most insane amount of depth in Fast bowling that can be possible, but the injury scars that have hit them over the last 8 months are also some of the worst that could have happened to any team. Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Ottniel Baartman and even Lungi Ngidi coming off from long breaks. The current bowling attack consists of Jansen and Rabada alongside newcomer and All Rounders Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder. One more concern could unofficially knock them out of the tournament on its own. The event being a short one helps their cause to some extent, but still, they currently stand on a thin sheet of ice.
Afghanistan Champions Trophy Squad Preview
The underdogs are no longer the same, and they have done a lot of hard work to achieve the status they are currently in. Qualifying for the Champions Trophy ahead of England isn’t as easy as Afghanistan made it look. They will play in their first-ever Champions Trophy, but they will certainly perform beyond their limits and provide some entertaining results throughout the tournament.
Afganistan’s start to CWC 23 was the same as their country’s suffering. They lost to Asian nations Bangladesh and India but defeated defending champions England in their next game. Lost to New Zealand but won their next 3 games consecutively. Had they not dropped the catches of Glenn Maxwell (which later on went out to become the best innings ever played in ODI), they would have easily won against Australia and maybe qualified for the knockouts, too.
Their World T20 campaign was even better. Afghanistan defeated New Zealand in group stages and Australia in Super 8, and it was the very first time that they reached the Semifinals of a World Cup, but South Africa ended their fairy tale with an incredible bowling performance.
Afghanistan’s batting lineup’s primary burden would be on the opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. Gurbaz is their highest run-getter post-World Cup, with over 500 runs, averaging nearly 50. Their new batsman, Sediquallah Atal, has also shown promise, scoring 50 and 100 in the six games he played.
Azmatullah Omarazai began to show promises in the World Cup itself, and since then, there has been no turning back for the right-hander. Post that tournament, he is their second highest run-getter and wicket-taker too. Omarzai is averaging over 52 with the bat and under 21 with the ball in this period.
Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Mohammad Nabi and Allah Ghazanfar. Each one of them is a match-winner in itself, and it will be very tough for the opposition to find a way to score against these quality spin bowlers. Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan will also perform the role of finishers as batsmen in death overs.
Strengths
Quality Spin Bowling: As we mentioned above about the spin bowling calibre, Afghanistan has the best spin bowling unit across the globe in limited-over formats. 3 of them will play most of the matches, and they can even field their 4th spinner (Noor Ahmed) if needed. This quality in spin bowling is backed up by the data that Afghanistan spinners have the best bowling average (28.7) across all the teams playing in the tournament.
Astonishing Starts: We always need early breakthroughs to generate a great powerplay and thus set the tone for the match moving forward. Afghanistan’s bowling attack is very good at doing this, as they have the second-best bowling strike rate in the powerplay after South Africa.
Weaknesses
Slow Starts: The role of powerplay is critical in setting the tone of the match. The initial 10 overs provide you with the momentum that if you score big in this, a higher score/chase looks achievable. Afghanistan is quite good in the bowling department (in powerplay), but that’s not the case in their batting. Their strike rate of 61.92 is the worst among the participating nations. To understand how low it is, even the second worst (New Zealand) has a strike rate of 74.08.
Fast Bowling: Afghanistan has been the home for some of the best spinners in the recent era, but its fast bowling department still needs a lot of work. Fast bowling was never their weapon, and Naveen ul Haq’s retirement brought them more problems. Spinners can take charge in the powerplay and middle overs, but the pacers’ role in death is crucial, and their pacers have been horrible in this phase of the game, giving almost 10 runs per over, much worse than the 2nd worst.
New Zealand Champions Trophy Squad Preview
3 Semifinals, 2 Finals and 1 time lifting the mace, 9 years have gone by, and New Zealand will kickstart a new era as their greatest-ever captain, Kane Williamson, passes the baton to Mitchell Santner. Williamson, without a doubt, outperformed and improvised from where Brendon McCullum left; therefore, the expectations from Santner and his men would be to at least match the same intensity and competitiveness that Kiwis have built their reputation around.
New Zealand has definitely been punching above its weight for the last decade, but at some point, the underdog status revokes and the fighter has to start establishing a Heavyweight legacy of its own.
Placed alongside hosts Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, the journey to Knockout seems straightforward: beat either of the 2 rivals and go ahead, but the conditions will pose an extreme challenge for them. With the pitches expected to be good and scoring like usual in ICC events, Kiwis will depend heavily on their young pace attack as they lack a wicket-taking spin option apart from the part-time spin of Glenn Phillips. The continuous bad form of almost all their Wicketkeepers brings in another selection doubt.
Strengths
Batting Depth: New Zealand is historically known for bowling all-rounders Chris Cairns, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori & Mitchell Santner from the modern-day team. Top batting efforts from players with the primary role of bowling have been a sight to behold from Kiwi fan’s point of view. Even out and out Fast Bowlers like Tim Southee, Adam Milne & Matt Henry showed us their batting skills while representing the Blackcaps.
The current Champions Trophy squad suggests that New Zealand will head into the tournament with a playing XI that will have a minimum of 5 All-rounders, potentially being Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell. Having one of the best All-rounders of the world, captain Mitchell Santner, batting at no. 8 suggests the batting depth privilege of this team. The depth further allows players like Glenn Phillips to play their natural game and someone like Kane Williamson to pace his innings as per will.
Countering Spin: Contrasting to the expectations given their home conditions, New Zealand have statistically emerged as one of the best batting sides against spin in recent ODIs. Since 2023, only India has a better batting average against spin than New Zealand, and only England has a better Strike Rate/Scoring rate than them. The new-age Kiwi batters like Chapman, Young, Conway, Phillips and experienced Tom Latham are all renowned as good players of spin bowling, which was even evident in Test Cricket. Given that the tournament takes place in Pakistan and UAE and the fact that New Zealand will face 3 Asian sides in the group stage, this quality spin batting may make a clear difference for them.
Weaknesses
Middle overs Conundrum: For all teams participating in the Champions Trophy, New Zealand has the worst bowling average (44.21) in the middle over phase in ODIs since 2023. Moreover, they will most likely field a playing XI that will not have any wrist spinner or even a proper frontline spinner. Mitchell Santner & Michael Bracewell will be two-finger spinners with some part-time off-spin of Glenn Phillps. So, even to get breakthroughs in the middle, the Kiwis will depend upon their young pace attack led by Matt Henry, who is more of a powerplay bowler.
Wicketkeeper Selection: The second conundrum or something even worse is that Tommy Latham, who was once their vice-captain and one of the pillars of the middle order as a wicketkeeper, is no longer performing. In fact, he not so shockingly scored three ducks in a row recently in 3 different ODIs, but the problem is if you drop him and bring in Mark Chapman, who is in unbelievable form in the middle order, you will have to handover the gloves to Devon Conway, the other wicketkeeper who is himself fighting for an opening slot with Will Young, yet another in form batter. Glenn Phillips, the part-time wicketkeeper, cannot keep wickets because his part-time spin will be much more needed than ever before. So, to accommodate a Wicketkeeper, at least one in-form ODI batter out of Young or Chapman has to be benched, and maybe Devon Conway has to keep wickets for 50 overs while opening the batting alongside. New Zealand will need a strong solution before it is too late.
England Champions Trophy Squad Preview
Squad Changes: Tom Banton comes in place of Jacob Bethell
Captain Jos Buttler, alongside Joe Root, are the only 2 players from the current squad who played in the 2013 Champions Trophy final, in which England lost to India in a thriller, and now both will be hoping to lead their team to their first-ever Champions Trophy title.
England’s tourney in the 2023 ODI World Cup didn’t go as they wanted. They played the tournament as defending champions and won just one in their initial 7 games. They won the final 2 games (against Pakistan and Netherlands) to ensure their qualification for Champions Trophy 2025.
They lost to West Indies in their latest ODI series. Moreover, they are unable to win an ODI series after the major tournament in India. Seeing this record, it seems like England is not in the best form but would like to boost their confidence in the ODI series against India just before the Champions Trophy.
The rise of Ben Duckett as an ODI opener has solved many problems for England. He, alongside Phil Salt, will be the key for England in the powerplay. Joe Root will play the role of an anchor as the middle order of England is pretty good and can change gears at any moment.
Harry Brook is the highest scorer for England since the World Cup 2023. He has struck 427 runs, averaging over 71 with a Strike Rate of 116. Liam Livingstone has also scored 348 runs, averaging around 50 with a Strike Rate of 120. He is also their second-highest wicket-taker in this period, with 8 scalps in the 11 games he played. Tom Banton came as the replacement of Bethell, and Captain Buttler needs no introduction.
Although they have bowlers who can bowl at a very high pace, their bowling still looks a bit rusty as Jofra Archer is not in the best form, and Mark Wood played his last ODI game in World Cup 2023. The role of Adil Rashid in the middle overs will be important from England’s bowling point of view.
Strengths
Injury-Relieved Squad: This isn’t one of the more conventional virtues that is usually used; however, given how teams such as Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Australia, etc. have been plagued with injuries to key members, England is lucky to be heading into the tournament with their full-strength XI baring just one minor change with Banton coming in place of Bethell.
Explosive in the Middle: With batters like Duckett, Root and Buttler in their ranks, opposition spinners will always need to be on their toes against the English side. Although the batting lineup is prone to collapses in dicey pitches, in tracks conducive to batting, their philosophy in overs 11-40 can prove to be the difference. This is backed by the fact that they also have the best scoring rate in the middle-overs.
Weaknesses
Spin Woes: Although this may seem contradictory to the previous point, it is what it is. England not only has the worst average against spinners (29.87) but also the second-worst among participating teams (Afghanistan), is a distant second-last (33.13).
One-Dimensional Batting line-up: Ever since their white-ball revolution, England is well-known for their attack-first mindset, but given the decline of Joe Root in this format, the side now lacks an anchor. Brook has been disappointing in his short ODI career, and thus, the side may face issues in bridging the explosive openers with the long line of finishers.
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