How the teams are shaping up for Champions Trophy

The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 is just around the corner, with every team hoping to hit the ground running in the tournament.

To do so, many of the key contenders have been in white-ball action over the last few weeks in a bid to tune up.

So, who has impressed in that time?

New Zealand have warmed up for the tournament in fine fashion, winning the Tri-Nation Series against Pakistan and South Africa.

Each team played each other before hosts Pakistan took on the Blackcaps in the final, with the Kiwis making it three wins from three.

Kane Williamson has been in supreme form, smashing a magnificent century in a successful chase against South Africa after having notched a fifty in the opening win over Pakistan.

In that encounter, Glenn Phillips scored an unbeaten 106 off just 74 deliveries, with Daryl Mitchell also chipping in with a pair of half-centuries.

Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha each hit three figures in Pakistan’s win over the Proteas, for whom Matthew Breetzke made a flying start to his international career with 150 and 83 in his two innings.

Meanwhile, in India, the reigning ICC Men’s T20 world champions have been in fine form during their recent white-ball clashes with England.

After taking the T20 series 4-1, they then earned a clean sweep in the 50-over game, winning all three encounters.

Shubman Gill was the star of the show, racking up 259 runs at an average of 86.33, including a century in the third ODI.

In that game, India racked up 356 runs after batting first on their way to a 142-run victory, having successfully chased in the first two games.

Shreyas Iyer also impressed with the bat, while Rohit Sharma’s century in the second ODI may have been the best knock of the series.

Meanwhile, with the ball, Ravindra Jadeja took six wickets at an average of just over 10 and an economy rate of 3.21, with only Adil Rashid taking more wickets with his seven.

Of the other three teams in action in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan looked good in their most recent ODI encounters, winning a series in Zimbabwe in December, as well as beating Bangladesh 2-1 in Sharjah before that.

Bangladesh followed that series defeat with a 3-0 loss to the West Indies in the Caribbean, but will be hoping for improved displays back in more familiar conditions.

Finally, with a number of notable absentees in their Champions Trophy squad, Australia fell to a 2-0 ODI series defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka. While their batters struggled to impose themselves across both matches in Colombo, Spencer Johnson, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis all impressed with the ball in the first game.

(Source: ICC)

Champions Trophy, ICC, Cricket, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Pakistan