The State of Play
Tournament favourites India get their ICC Champions Trophy campaign up and running tomorrow when they take on Bangladesh in Dubai.
Pakistan is staging its first ICC event in 29 years with seven of the eight teams based in the main host country. The exception is India whose government refused to allow its cricket team to travel to Pakistan as political tensions continue to simmer.
And while that is a disappointment for cricket fans in Pakistan, it’s a bonus for those in the United Arab Emirates as arguably the best ODI team in the world get set to play all their tournament matches in Dubai.
It is also potentially not a bad thing for India’s chances of success.
📍 Dubai
The preps have begun for #ChampionsTrophy 2025 🙌 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/wRLT6KPabj
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 16, 2025
They won’t have to play in a country where India are always the arch enemy and can instead enjoy the support of the many expats in the Middle East.
The pitches should also play into India’s hands with their spinners set to benefit from the slow turn normally associated with that part of the world.
If the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja get it right, then India may not miss the injured Jasprit Bumrah too much.
Bumrah’s failure to recover from a back injury saw the India selectors alter the dynamic of the squad and bring in Varun Chakaravarthy and Harshit Rana with young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal relegated to the reserves list.
Opting for Chakaravarthy as a fifth spinner in the squad rather than paceman Mohammed Siraj has caused a stir but former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik can see the sense in the decision.
He told Cricbuzz: “If you had to go with experience, then yes, Siraj could have been the ideal choice, but I thought Harshit bowled very well against England. What I feel is the Indian camp is very impressed with Harshit Rana. I think Harshit Rana was the debate, but I feel Team India backs him right now more than Siraj.”
The batting line-up is full of quality and veteran stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli showed flashes of their best in the recent three-match series against England.
Bangladesh come into the tournament with little warm-up and looking short of the quality required to challenge the likes of India and Australia.
But captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was in bullish mood when asked to assess his team’s chances.
“We are going to the Champions Trophy to become champions,” Shanto said. “All eight teams deserve to be champions in this tournament. They are all quality teams. I believe our team has the ability. No one will feel extra pressure. Everyone genuinely wants [to become champions], and believes in their capabilities. We are working hard and doing our best. I believe we can achieve our goal.”
Team News
India will likely go with three spinners and rely on Hardik Pandya as their third seamer. With Bumrah injured, much will rest on the experienced Mohammed Shami with India hoping he can replicate his brilliant displays at the 2023 World Cup.
Bangladesh are missing senior all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has been suspended due to an illegal action, while Litton Das and Tamim Iqbal are also absent.
Paceman Nahid Rana is the man to watch.
Expected line-ups
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami.
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mustafizur Rahman
How to Watch
The ICC Champions Trophy can be watched in the UK on Sky Sports. Thursday’s coverage starts on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket at 0830.
In India, it is being shown on the JioStar network with JioHotstar providing live streaming. On television, in addition to the English feed, coverage will also be available in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada across Star Sports and Sports18 channels.
Prediction
Although Rana could pose problems for India’s top order, their strength in depth should see them past a tricky first opponent.
Bangladesh should not be underestimated but it’s tough to look past India.