Champions Trophy 2025: Injury-Hit Australia Look To Prove Doubters Wrong

Last Updated:February 19, 2025, 13:47 IST

With several senior players missing out, an inexperienced Australian squad has the chance to prove the world why they are the current ODI world champions.

Australia will be led by Steve Smith in Pat Cummins’ absence. (AFP Photo)

Two-time Champions Trophy winners Australia come in with a relatively inexperienced side. Australia are missing key components like first-choice captain, a star fast-bowling trio, and a couple of top allrounders. Steve Smith returns as captain, hoping to maintain Australia’s fairly dominant record in ICC tournaments and help bring forth the next generation of Australian stars who will play in their first major tournament.

Despite their dominant record in ICC tournaments, recent ODI results suggest that there is a lot left to be desired as far as on-field performances go. This comes after back-to-back series defeats – Pakistan at home and away to Sri Lanka. But they will be banking on their success in the subcontinent and the UAE where they won the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup respectively.

In the absence of several senior players, the Australian management has decided to pin their hopes on players who haven’t been regulars in the national setup for one reason or the other. But this tournament will be an opportunity for these talents to establish themselves as quality options that can be relied on in the long run.

As far as their group is concerned, Australia do have a tough run of opposition where they take on England, South Africa and Afghanistan. All three sides can prove to be a nuisance on their day and the Aussies have to be on top right from the beginning.

Injury Setbacks

Mitchell Marsh: The allrounder from Perth misses out due to back issues. His loss will be a big blow for the Aussies who will have to adjust their top-order and also miss out on an additional bowling option who has the experience under his belt.

Pat Cummins: The Australian skipper has been ruled out of the tournament after not fully recovering from an ankle injury following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. His leadership and quality with the ball will be a big miss.

Josh Hazlewood: The New South Wales pacer has been battling his fair share of injuries since the Test series against India. His accuracy with the ball coupled with his experience playing against top opponents will be a big blow for the two-time winners.

Late Withdrawals

Marcus Stoinis: The shock retirement of the star allrounder has forced Australia to bring in fresh talents who are yet to make a mark in ODI cricket. The Aussies will certainly miss out on his experience.

Mitchell Starc: The seasoned left-arm pacer will not be available for the Champions Trophy 2025 due to personal reasons, leaving the side without their star pace trio. The pacer from Sydney has built a reputation for delivering in ICC tournaments and the Aussies will certainly miss his toe-crushing deliveries in their upcoming campaign.

History In Champions Trophy

The Aussies share the top spot as the most successful team in the tournament with two titles. They are also the only side to have won back-to-back titles when they won it in 2006 and 2009 respectively under the leadership of Ricky Ponting. However, in the other editions, Australia has not lived up to their tag as being one of the most dominant forces in the ICC tournament having crashed out twice in the group stages (2013 and 2017) along with being knocked out in two quarterfinals (1998 and 2000) and two semifinals (2002 and 2004).

Top Players to Watch Out

Travis Head: The left-handed batter has been arguably Australia’s best batter across formats in recent years. His tenacity combined with explosive brand of batting could rise to new levels especially if he continues to open the batting. With the two-time winners lacking some serious match-winners, Head could be expected to do the heavy lifting, helping Australia score the bulk of their runs.

Adam Zampa: The legspinner has been the Aussies go-to wicket-taking option as a spinner. With the lack of experience in the fast-bowling unit, Zampa will be expected to utilise his experience playing in the sub-continent and deliver wickets regularly. It is also to be noted that he played a big role in Australia’s success in the 2021 T20 World Cup held in the UAE and the Aussies would hope that he finds his best form right from ball one.

Glenn Maxwell: While his recent ODI numbers are not that appealing, Maxwell’s threat with the bat cannot be understated. As seen from his stellar double hundred against Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 36-year-old can single-handedly lift the team from the depths of defeat. With the lack of senior stars and a relatively inexperienced side, the onus will be on Maxwell to deliver consistently in the middle order for Australia to have a chance at going all the way.

Strongest Playing XI

Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Tanveer Sangha

Recent ODI Form (Past 5 Matches)

• Australia lost by 174 runs to Sri Lanka at Colombo
• Australia lost by 49 runs to Sri Lanka at Colombo
• Australia lost by 8 wickets to Pakistan at Perth
• Australia lost by 9 wickets to Pakistan at Adelaide
• Australia won by 2 wickets to Pakistan at Melbourne

Australia’s Full Squad For Champions Trophy 2025

Steve Smith (C), Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Inglis (wk), Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha.

Team Schedule (Group Fixtures)

• 22 February 2025, (Saturday): Australia vs England at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
• 25 February 2025, (Tuesday): Australia vs South Africa At Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
• 28 February 2025, (Friday): Australia vs Afghanistan at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore