The UAE leg of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 will witness in-form India take on Asian rivals Bangladesh in their opening Group A league match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) on Thursday. The same comes at the back of a clinical performance by New Zealand who outplayed the reigning champions Pakistan by 60 runs after setting a target of 321 in the opening game* of Champions Trophy in Karachi on Wednesday.

India, the finalists at the most recent edition of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 and winners of last year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup, will look to make an impact in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy from the word go, by getting one over their opponents in a tourney akin, to a Mini ODI World Cup, that is witnessing participation from eight top ODI sides over the course of 19 days

The Men in Blue are no strangers to success in the global event, having previously secured title wins in 2002 (co-winners with Sri Lanka), and 2013. India have registered 17 triumphs in the last 20 ODIs in an ICC event since the 2017 CT final, in fact have recorded most wins for any team in the timeframe.

But this time around, Rohit Sharma’s side will be without their finest bowling asset, Jasprit Bumrah ruled out owing to a back issue, and have banked on a spin-heavy setup comprising of multiple all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, who provide depth with bat and ball.

Another all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who played a major role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in 2024, along with the tourney’s most successful bowler Arshdeep Singh and come back man Mohammed Shami will be critical to India’s Champions Trophy ambitions with the new ball in the absence of Bumrah. With the bat, Pandya holds the key as a proven power-hitter, who can accumulate runs quickly in the lower order.

Meanwhile, fresh names have been introduced in the bowling line-up with pacer Harshit Rana and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy putting themselves in the mix.

The same comes at the back of presence of leading runs scorers in the tourney of Rohit (597 runs) and Virat Kohli (765 runs) who power a well-rounded batting line-up to get the job done for them in the tournament.

India's preparation for the Champions Trophy comes at the back of a hugely successful recent white-ball run against England. Hosts India clean-swept the visitors 3-0 in the ODI series with an all-round show, while chasing twice by an identical margin of four wickets.

Shubman Gill was the star of the series, racking up 259 runs at an average of 86.33, including a century in the third ODI in addition to two half centuries earlier, wherein the host put up a mammoth score of 356 runs after batting first on their way to a 142-run victory, having successfully chased in the first two games. Gill for his consistency emerged as the top-ranked ODI batter having overtaken Pakistan’s Babar Azam in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings update on Wednesday. The India vice-captain regained top position after clinching it for the first time in November 2023, during the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup.

Shreyas Iyer who was drafted in to the Indian side as a last minute replacement for former skipper Virat Kohli, injured, in the first ODI, also impressed with the bat by scoring 181 runs with two fifties in the three match series, while Hit-man Rohit’s century in the second ODI, his 32nd overall,  may have been the best knock of the series, that laid the platform for 305 run successful chase

Shreyas also moved up one slot to ninth position as India went into the eight-team tournament with four batters in the top 10. Captain Rohit Sharma is in third position and star batter Virat Kohli is sixth.

Meanwhile, with the ball, left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja took six wickets at an average of just over 10 and an economy rate of 3.21, with only England leg spinner Adil Rashid taking more wickets with his seven.

Before that, India had an upper hand against England having won the five-game T20I series, comfortably 4-1. Those seven wins, all in the last month, should amount to a confident feeling inside the squad.

Their opponent’s Bangladesh first-up are also good exponents of spin, and have the capacity to dish out a surprise in big events.

The Tigers form in the 50-over version of the game isn’t as straightforward though. Their national side hasn’t played any cricket since December, when they toured the West Indies, wherein they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 in the three-match ODI series. They saved face somewhat by claiming all three T20Is in the Caribbean that followed the One-Day International cricket. In November, before they toured the West Indies, Bangladesh went down 2-1 to Afghanistan in an ODI series in the UAE.

The Nazmul Hossain Shanto lead side however will be hoping for improved displays back in more familiar conditions and will take inspiration from their 2007 heroics against India, and will back their experienced players to come good in their tourney opener and progress past the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

For Bangladesh Mehidy Hasan Miraz along with rookie pacer Nahid Rana, will be players to watch out for. The 27-year-old all-rounder Mehdiy is at the peak of his powers and will need to deliver in all departments for the Tigers to make a dent at the Champions Trophy. He scored 152 runs across three ODIs with an average of 50.66, striking at 84.91 and also accounted for eight wickets across the T20I series in the Caribbean last December.

Right arm pacer, Rana, 22, prior to his maiden taste of ICC tournament, has been consistently bowling at speeds of 150km/h, in a bid to make inroads into the opposition line up.

Sharing his thoughts about his team’s playing philosophy ahead of the tourney, Rohit Sharma who will be playing his third Champions Trophy and his first as India’s skipper said, “There is a bit of freedom in the squad to go out there and play the way you are supposed to play and we want to continue to do that, and build on that. Our top four is settled and experienced. There will be times things will not fall in place, but that's okay”.

He further added, “ Scoring hundreds at the top is the secret to success. But in the World Cup we chipped and didn't have a lot of hundreds and still got big totals. Everyone wants to chip and not look at individual milestones and every batsman has to do the job. If 7-8 of us think like that we will be in a good position”.

Nazmul Hossain Shanto who will be leading his side in an ICC event for the third time, made it clear that Bangladesh are eyeing their first-ever title said, “We know it is going to be difficult but if we execute our plans on a given day, we can win because we have got a very good team.”

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Bangladesh: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (C), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, MD Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.

* New Zealand outplay Pakistan

Tons by Tom Latham and Will Young alongside a blistering fifty from Glenn Phillips at the back end of the innings ensured New Zealand score 320 for 5 in 50 overs after being put in to bat by Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan.

Having reduced the Kiwis to 73 for 3 at one stage, the two centurions Young (107) and Latham (118 not out) stitched a 118-run partnership to ensure New Zealand's recovery. Phillips' blasted 61 off 39 balls to ensure the visitors crossed the 300-run mark.

Under pressure to perform, the hosts struggled in the chase and were off to a slow start, scoring  22 for 2 in 10 overs. Babar Azam laborious 64 runs off 90 balls coupled with Khushdil Shah and Salman Agha quickfire 69 and 42, respectively, however went in vain as Pakistan were bowled out for 260 in the 48^th over. William O'Rourke and Santner were the most successful bowlers for New Zealand

Photo Cover: Indian skipper will aim to replicate his team’s T20 World Cup 2024 success in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 too (Photos courtesy BCCI)

Photo Above: Indian team members along with their coach Gautam Gamhir bond during the practice session during the eve of  their CT 2025 league match against Bangladesh