With one month to go for the long-awaited comeback of the Champions Trophy, anticipation is building for the tournament that is short in duration but big on ambition.
The 50-over contest, split between hosts Pakistan and the UAE, begins on February 19 and will bring together the top eight teams in the world. They will fight for an ICC trophy that had been put on the back burner following the advent of T20 cricket and then brought back again, possibly for its unique charm of being a short 50-over event in the vast savannah of T20.
The happiest among all teams will be Pakistan, who are getting to host their first ICC tournament of the 21st century. It will mark the definitive return of international cricket to Pakistan's territory following years of isolation and irregular tours.
However, they will have to share hosting duties with Dubai as India have refused to travel to Pakistan owing to lack of clearance from its government due to political tensions.
Anyhow, it is quite apt that major cricket is returning to Pakistan in the form of the Champions Trophy; Pakistan were the winners when the event was last held in 2017.
There will be other hopefuls as well. Below is the list of the squads of seven of the eight participating teams.
There are a few notable absentees. South Africa quick Anrich Nortje has been ruled out due to injury, while India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been picked subject to fitness. Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das have been dropped due to poor form.
Meanwhile, hosts Pakistan are yet to announce their squad.
Champions Trophy 2025 squads
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
England: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah*, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje**, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran, Farid Ahmad Malik
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan, Nahid Rana
* Bumrah availability subject to fitness
** Nortje injured. Replacement yet to be announced
