CT 2025: “Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are big cricketers”- Sourav Ganguly backs senior duo to regain form in Champions Trophy

India will be begin CT 2025 prep with a 3-ODI series against England from Feb 6.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be in action in ODIs v England | Getty

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli may have struggled in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but Sourav Ganguly remains confident in senior batters to get into form as ICC Champions Trophy 2025 nears.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the Ranji Trophy in January, hoping to reignite their red-ball careers. Both players struggled on their return to the domestic tournament after a lengthy absence.

The senior Indian tandem will return to the international scene for a three-match ODI series against England, which begins on February 6. India will seek to continue its momentum from their last ICC tournament inthe  USA and Caribbean last year.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly predicted that the senior Indian players would make a successful comeback in the Champions Trophy. 

"In white-ball cricket, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are big cricketers. We hope the wickets in the Champions Trophy will be good, especially in Dubai. They’ve done well in past World Cups in white-ball cricket.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will perform well. In the upcoming series, they will play well. They may not have played well in Australia, but they will definitely do well in the upcoming series," Sourav Ganguly told India Today.

As the ICC Champions Trophy is being played in the 50-over format, India will hope to build on their incredible run in the last 50-over ICC tournament in 2023, where the Men in Blue qualified for the ICC World Cup final undefeated.

The former captain, however, stopped short of calling India the outright favorites in the Champions Trophy.

"India has won the T20 World Cup. In 2023, India was the runner-up in the 50-over World Cup. In the Champions Trophy, India will be one of the favorites and one of the contenders. How India executes everything will depend on that. India's white-ball team is very good.

All the teams in the Champions Trophy are strong. It’s tough to say now. India, Australia, England, and South Africa—many teams are strong. Pakistan is also there, as the tournament is in the subcontinent. It will depend on who plays well at that time," Ganguly concluded.

India is grouped with Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh in Group A and will play its matches in Dubai. India will begin their CT 2025 campaign on Feb 20 against Bangladesh and will clash with Pakistan on Feb 23. India’s last game will be against New Zealand on March 2.

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 03 Feb, 2025

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