India’s chances of winning the Champions Trophy are very high; watch their new star bowler: Shikhar Dhawan

The Champions Trophy 2025 edition is scheduled to start on February 19. On February 20 at the Dubai International Stadium, Rohit Sharma’s India, one of the pre-tournament favourites, will play their opening match against their Asian rivals, Bangladesh. India advanced much in 2013 when they won the trophy in England under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, but they fell short in the 2017 summit match and finished as runners-up after suffering a crushing defeat to bitter rivals Pakistan. Shikhar Dhawan, one of India’s best players at ICC competitions, evaluated the team’s prospects prior to the 2025 Champions Trophy. As stated to ICC:

The return of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy is a wonderful sensation. I played in it for the first time in 2013, and I had a great experience. This tournament is already generating a lot of interest.

I can’t look past India, and there is a lot of fascinating conjecture and projection. They have a strong squad and performed admirably against England in their most recent ODI series, so I have a lot of faith in them.

They will undoubtedly miss Jasprit Bumrah, and I believe they will feel his absence greatly. This is what worries me. He is the greatest bowler in the world, in my opinion, and it is difficult to match his precision. Additionally, he is a very composed individual, which is essential at a major ICC event like this one.

At the same time, Harshit Rana has joined the team, which is incredibly exciting in my opinion. Watch him closely because I believe he could have a breakthrough event. I appreciate his approach; he is fearless and a go-getter. He takes on difficulties, and the England series has shown that he is playing well. He will undoubtedly want to take advantage of this chance, and if he succeeds, he might give India a true x-factor.

There are numerous reasons to have hope for India. Particularly with the bat, they have a very well-rounded team with a good mix of youth and experience. In particular, Shubman Gill plays a significant function and is incredibly reliable. He will have a fantastic tournament, in my opinion.

They are a good team and will require some stopping; Virat Kohli is there and Rohit Sharma has found form. India performed admirably in the previous Champions Trophy, but they were unfortunately defeated in the championship match. However, we had fantastic cricket. The squad knows what they can do, so there will be some incredible memories of that.

In this tournament, I also think South Africa is a great pick. They have played cricket regularly and possess the x-factor players like Kagiso Rabada, strength-in-depth, and experience needed to win such a major tournament.

I also like New Zealand, who are always there or close by, and Pakistan, who will be difficult to defeat at home.

Despite their struggles in their series against Sri Lanka, Australia has some excellent hitters. Travis Head is playing well, and I can’t wait to see Steve Smith.

He is reminding everyone of his brilliance and has returned to form in Test cricket. I spent a lot of time playing with Virat during this fantastic era of outstanding batsmen, including Steve, Virat, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson.

It’s encouraging to see them all still running strong, and I hope they host major competitions. I adored their style, learnt from them, and watched them all. They are all driven to keep performing, and I believe they have supported one another. They are very unique.

For me, the ICC Champions Trophy holds immense significance.

I was the team’s top run scorer in both our 2013 victory and our 2017 final appearance. Winning in 2013 was one of my greatest career accomplishments. Since it was my comeback outing in ODI cricket, I was quite relieved when I got a century in the opening match against South Africa.

It helped me get back into the ODI side since I was performing well in the Test team. In addition to being anxious and thrilled, I was also quite confident. Despite South Africa’s excellent pace attack, which was dominated by Morne Morkel, I settled in and hit the century.

The sensation of opening my arms after I scored that century is still fresh in my mind. It was one of the most significant times in my career, and it felt like I was announcing to the world that I had made it. A player gains confidence that lasts throughout a tournament when they score huge runs early on. After that, I simply continued to score runs.

I became more confident and realised I belonged on that stage. I used to convince myself that I was the world’s best batter, despite the fact that we had Virat Kohli or Rohit. When I began to score runs and set records in that competition, it almost became a reality. I needed that self-belief. My life transformed, and it was an amazing feeling. People were talking about me, they began to recognise me in the street, and even my moustache gained notoriety! It was a ridiculous craze, with many people growing a Shikhar Dhawan moustache! All of them are lovely recollections.

In the final, we faced off against England, who were pursuing the target with Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan playing well. I still recall that the pressure was making my palms perspire, but the game changed in our favour when Ishant Sharma entered the game and got two wickets. That’s what good teams do; they control their emotions, maintain consistent body language, and manage to win. In Pakistan, it is what teams will have to do.