Indian players gave their best during the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan and Dubai. The Men in Blue won the final against New Zealand by four wickets on Sunday. Former player Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed his Best Playing XI of the tournament, picking only four Indians. There was no place for the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma.
He kept England’s Ben Duckett and New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra as openers. There was a competition between Virat Kohli and Joe Root for the third spot, but he preferred the former, considering his performances against Pakistan and Australia. Shreyas Iyer, the highest run-getter for the Men in Blue, was given No.4.
Ashwin didn’t consider the likes of Axar Patel, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya, who all contributed to the team’s success.
Australia star Josh Inglis, South African legend David Miller, Afghanistan’s top performer Azmatullah Omarzai, and New Zealand’s spin sensational Michael Bracewell were selected in the team.
In the bowling department, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav were selected. Instead of Mohammed Shami, he went with Matt Henry, the only specialist fast bowler. New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner was picked as the 12th man.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Team of the Tournament: Rachin Ravindra, Ben Duckett, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Josh Inglis, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Michael Bracewell, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Matt Henry. 12th man: Mitchell Santner.