'The tag of favorites..' - Sunil Gavaskar picks the team to win Champions Trophy 2025

Famous Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that, as the event's host, Pakistan are the clear favourite to win the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. The massive event, which is scheduled to begin on February 19, will be co-hosted by Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan, the defending champion, won the most recent Champions Trophy in 2017.

To win their first Champions Trophy, the Men in Green defeated fierce rivals India in the event's thrilling final at the Oval. Pakistan was selected as the favourite ahead of the next cricket tournament by Gavaskar, who cited their advantage as the hosts.

When asked about which team will win the Champions Trophy 2025 Sunil Gavaskar said, "The tag of favourites should be given to the home team Pakistan as it's not easy to beat any team in their home conditions. India lost in the final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 but before that, they put up clinical performances and won ten matches on the trot. Hence, I feel Pakistan are the favourites for the upcoming tournament," as per Star Sports.

In addition, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan expressed his opinions about the ICC event's squad selection, pointing out that the selectors may prioritize pace bowling more because Dubai's conditions are favourable for seam bowlers.

"If we talk about Dubai Stadium, fast bowlers get a lot of assistance there, the ball swings early on. Bowlers also get a good bounce from the surface. Hence, the team should have a good seam attack, and the selectors will keep that in mind while selecting the team," Irfan Pathan said. 

Format of Champions Trophy 2025

A total of eight teams are split into two groups for the Champions Trophy 2025. Group A consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand and Group B includes Australia, South Africa, England, and Afghanistan. India’s game will be played in Dubai and their first match is against Bangladesh on February 20.   

The much-awaited match in the Champions Trophy 2025 between India and Pakistan will take place on 23^rd February. Rawalpindi Lahore and Karachi are the three stadiums to host the match in Champions Trophy 2025.  In addition to the event final may be placed in Dubai if India advances to the final match, India will play the first semi-final on March 4.