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With the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 less than a month away from start, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, along with former India cricketer Ravi Shastri picked their finalists for the upcoming ICC tournament. The duo named India and Australia as the top contenders to lift the title, locking horns in the summit clash, due to their current run and the experienced squad they boost of.
In a recent interview for The ICC Review with sports presentor Sanjana Ganesan, the two former cricketers highlighted the recent success of both the teams across formats while naming them as the finalists for the ICC Champions Trophy. It is to be noted that the marquee 50-over tournament is scheduled to commence from February 19 in Pakistan, whereas, Team India will play all its matches in the UAE, along with semifinal and final, if they qualify.
Hard to go past India and Australia again: Ricky Ponting and Ravi Shastri ahead of Champions Trophy 2025
Speaking on The ICC Review, both Ponting and Shastri exclaimed that it’s difficult to look beyond India and Australia, they also named Pakistan as a “strong contender” seeing their recent form. “It’s hard to go past India and Australia again... Just think about the quality of players in both countries right now, and you look back in recent history when these big finals and big ICC events have come around, and inevitably, Australia and India are there somewhere,” Ponting said. “India and Australia are both in prime form, and it would take a lot for any other team to challenge them,” Ravi Shastri stated.
The former Aussie cricketer also added that hosts Pakistan cannot be left, as he said, “The other team that is playing some really good cricket at the moment is Pakistan...Their one-day cricket over the last little bit has been absolutely outstanding. They’re not always the most predictable team in those big tournaments, but they seem like they’ve sorted things out a little bit."
While India will play England in a three-match ODI series ahead of the marquee ICC tournament, Australia will take on Sri Lanka in two-match ODI series before travelling to Pakistan. On the other hand, the host nation will lock horns with South Africa and New Zealand in an ODI tri-nation series from February 8 till February 14.