Champions Trophy 2025: SWOT Analysis of India's – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

The Indian cricket team is set to embark on its mission to win its second ICC title within 12 months. Rohit Sharma and his side will start their campaign on Thursday, 20th February, in Dubai against Bangladesh. This will be followed by their massive clash against Pakistan, which is the biggest game of the tournament. 

Ahead of the massive tournament, the Men in Blue were dealt a massive blow. Ace pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. This is a massive blow considering Bumrah was the best bowler for India across all formats. Young pace sensation Harshit Rana and spinner Varun Chakravarthy have been included in the squad. 

Team India heads into Champions Trophy 2025 on the back of their 3-0 series win against England recently. If Rohit and his team win the title, this will be their third ICC Champions Trophy tournament win. Sourav Ganguly and his side shared the trophy in 2002, while in 2013, MS Dhoni’s side beat England to win their second title. 

Here are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Indian cricket team in Champions Trophy 2025

Strengths: Experienced core group of players 

Indian cricket team heads into Champions Trophy 2025 with one of the most settled teams. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami have all experienced various ICC tournaments. Rohit, Virat, Jadeja, Axar, and Hardik in particular were part of the side that won the ICC T20 World Cup in June. The core of the squad, with their experience in ODI format, will serve India in good stead. 

Weaknesses: Inconsistent form of some key players, unsettled bowling unit

With Jasprit Bumrah now absent and Mohammed Siraj not selected, the onus of pace bowling falls on Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami. In the recent series against England, Shami looked rusty, while Arshdeep was given just one match. Harshit Rana proved to be expensive in each of the games he played. The inconsistency of a few batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will also worry the team management. Rohit scored a ton but fell for double-digit scores in the first and final games. Kohli has also managed to score just one fifty in his last five ODI matches, which is a huge sign of concern. 

Opportunities: Chance to continue the aggressive brand of cricket 

Over the last three years, India’s approach to ODI cricket has changed. The need to be aggressive right from the start has put opposition under pressure. While this approach has its own issues, Team India seems to have perfected the art. Rohit will hope that his team continues to show the same aggression during the Champions Trophy 2025. 

Threats: Injury-prone squad 

In the last few years, some of the members of the current Indian squad for the Champions Trophy have faced injury issues or niggles. Virat Kohli had a troubled knee, which saw him miss the first match against England. The likes of Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami have had long injury layoffs. Varun Chakravarthy himself was ruled out during the final ODI against England. Gautam Gambhir will hope to avoid more injuries considering the Men in Blue don’t play many ODI games in recent times if they have to win the Champions Trophy 2025.