ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is around the corner and India is preparing with a strong squad led by Rohit Sharma. The Indian squad is looking solid on paper with a great balance of experience and young talent. India is considered as the top contender to lift the trophy along with Australia and South Africa. The Indian team’s batting is considered to be their main strength while injuries have done some damage to their bowling lineups. ICC Cricketer Of The Year, Jasprit Bumrah is out of the main event due to a back injury. Harshit Rana is announced as the replacement for injured Bumrah. Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh are the only two experienced bowlers left in the Indian squad for CT2025.
This article covers the SWOT analysis of Indian Cricket Team ahead of Champions Trophy 2025, highlights India’s strengths, including a world-class top order, experienced bowlers, and strong spin options in Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. But middle-order inconsistency and death-over bowling could be weak spots. As India will play all its matches in Dubai, India’s best probable playing 11 needs to be well-balanced. India has a history of performing well in ICC tournaments, keeping that in mind here is India swot analysis CT2025 and India’s best probable playing 11 for champions trophy 2025.
India Squad for Champions Trophy 2025
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.
Non Travelling substitutes: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube.
Coach:- Gautam Gambhir
India Strengths:
World Class Top Order:
Indian team has a very strong batting order in the top three with the likes of well known players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and vice-captain Shubman Gill. Rohit and Gill are in excellent form against England in the ongoing ODI series both have scored chunks of runs for India in the first two ODI. Rohit marks a solid comeback to silence his critics with his 32th ODI hundred, scoring with an strike rate of 132.22.
Virat is going through a rough patch of runs and has not scored a single half-century in ODIs since 2024. However, Virat is known for his performances in ICC tournaments and India can rely on a player of Virat’s caliber.
India’s Spin Arsenal:
The Indian team is always highlighted by their spin department which they have stuck for years. The Indian team can’t enter in a mega event without at least three quality spinners. 2025’ Champions Trophy is no different, India have four best in the business spinners in Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. Adding to their batting strength, Axar, Jadeja and Sundar all have performed well in batting as well.
India Weakness:
Lack of Reliable Middle-Order Player:
The Indian team is solid on paper but when it comes to the current performance of their middle order one can only bet on Shreyas Iyer from the squad analyzing his current form. India have issues in the wicket-keeping department as KL Rahul is completely out of form while Rishabh Pant is not well renowned for ODIs. The Indian team can be seen experimenting with Axar Patel as a middle-order player during the ODIs against England which is indicating a probable strategy of coach Gautam Gambhir.
India Opportunities:
Opportunity to Repeat History:
The Indian recently won the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which was their first ICC trophy since 2011 Cricket World Cup under MS Dhoni. India won two consecutive ICC Trophies in 2007 (T20 WC) and 2011 (CWC) which is a record India will be eying to equalise in this tournament. This is a brilliant opportunity for India to Bid Adieu to their International stars including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, who might be playing their last Champions Trophy.
India Threats:
Choice of a Wicket-Keeper:
The Indian have two choices in wicket-keeper department, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul which is sort of a headache for the team management to play one at a time. The Indian team’s squad looks short apart from their middle-order. KL Rahul has performed well in Cricket World Cup 2023 but his recent numbers are concerning while Rishabh Pant’s performance in IPL and BGT marks his comeback but both IPL and BGT were different formats. While ODI requires a lot of mental strength and adjustments in the playiogn style which will be a tough job for Rishabh Pant.
Bumrah’s Injury and Mohammad Shami’s Pace:
Jasprit Bumrah’s back injury is a real concern for the Indian team’s pace department. Bumrah is a world-class bowler who has the ability to win matches single handedly for his team. He was the player of the tournament, ICC Player of the Year 2024 and ICC Test cricketer of the year 2024. India will miss the duty of Bumrah in Champions Trophy.
Adding to the concern to the pace department, Mohammad Shami’s ODI comeback has not been up to the mark. His pace of 132 kmph is not proven to be harmful for the batters. A bowler like Shami with a great seam movement, pace is the only key for his success as Shami doesn;t swings the ball, he seams it off the surface.
India Best Playing 11 Champions Trophy 2025
After India SWOT Analysis for CT2025 let’s take a look at the probable India Best Playing 11 Champions Trophy 2025. We have analyzed India’s Strongest Playing 11 for Champions Trophy 2025 according to the squad and team composition.
India Best Playing 11 Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana/Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh
This is India’s Probable Playing 11 for Champions Trophy 2025, as discussed in the SWOT analysis, India’s top order is shorted while the question mark lies upon the place of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as any one of them can be given the wicket-keeping duties while Bumrah’s replacement is a big concern for India. Keeping Bumrah’s unavailibility in mind India can bring either Kuldeep or Harshit Rana in the Best Probable Playing 11.
Indian Team Schedule for Champions Trophy
| Date | Venue | Match |
|---|---|---|
| February 20, 2025 | Neutral | Bangladesh vs India |
| February 23, 2025 | Neutral | Pakistan vs India |
| March 2, 2025 | Neutral | New Zealand vs India |
Closing Note:
To wrap up, India has a strong team for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Their top order and spinners are their biggest strengths. But they need to fix their middle order and death bowling. Bumrah’s replacement is a worry, and the wicketkeeper choice is not clear. If India plays well and solves these problems, they can win the trophy!
