ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Ravichandran Ashwin picks 4 semi-finalists
Published - 18 Feb 2025, 04:47 PM | Updated - 18 Feb 2025, 11:36 PM
Table of Contents
The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy is set to kick off on Wednesday, February 19, with defending champions Pakistan facing New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener, Ravichandran Ashwin has picked his semi-finalists.
Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin, who recently retired from international cricket during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia, has the honor of winning the Champions Trophy. The iconic off-spinner was part of India’s 2013 ICC Champions Trophy-winning squad.
Ravichandran Ashwin predicts his semifinalists for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Well, the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will see eight teams battling it out for the prestigious title in Pakistan and Dubai. The 8 teams were divided into two groups of four.
Group A comprises India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, while Group B features Australia, England, Afghanistan, and South Africa. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.
For Group A, Ravichandran Ashwin has backed India and New Zealand to progress to the knockout stages of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, leaving out the hosts and the defending champions Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In Group B, the former Indian all-rounder has picked depleted Australia and England as his picks for the final semifinals of the prestigious tournament.
Ravichandran Ashwin ranks ICC Champions Trophy teams
Furthermore, Ashwin also gave his ratings on the strength and balance of the squads of all eight participating teams in the Champions Trophy, which is returning after eight years with Pakistan hosting the ICC tournament for the first time after the 1992 World Cup.
India and New Zealand each earned a score of 85/100. England followed closely with a score of 81, while Australia earned 78. Surprisingly, Ashwin placed Afghanistan at No. 5 with a score of 70, but the 2024 T20 World Cup runner-ups South Africa, Pakistan, and Bangladesh received lower scores.
Pakistan earned 68, South Africa 55, and Bangladesh the lowest with a score of 40 out of 100. According to the points and prediction, the seasoned off-spinner hinted that India and New Zealand are the top two contenders to lift the Champions Trophy next month.
I would have given India a 90 had Jasprit Bumrah been there: Ravichandran Ashwin
Well, Ashwin said that he would have rated India 90 out of 100 if Jasprit Bumrah had been available for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Notably, Bumrah was ruled out of the multi-nation tournament due to a back injury and Harshit Rana was named as his replacement for the mega event.
Ravichandran Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel, “I'll give them 85. I would have given India a 90 had Bumrah been there because India is completely different with him in the mix. The only concern for India, in my view, is that all their games are in Dubai."
"Let's say we lose all three tosses and are put into bat first because it's chalk and cheese between day and night at this venue. So, if opponents bat under lights, this 85 might start dropping.”
