After ending an 11-year drought without an International Cricket Council (ICC) event trophy by lifting the 2024 T20 World Cup, the Indian cricket team will enter the 2025 Champions Trophy as favourites to lift a second successive global title.

While Pakistan are hosting the tournament, India will play all their matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the Dubai International Stadium set to host all their matches including the blockbuster India-Pakistan clash as well as a potential semi-final and final.

Strengths - India's biggest strength lies in the mastery of the ODI format. The 2009 Champions Trophy was the last global ODI event in which India failed to reach the knockouts and since the 2011 World Cup, they have made at least the semi-final of a major ODI tournament.

Since 2020, India has been the only team to win more than 50 games in the format, and no team has a better Win/Loss Ratio than India's 2.040 in this decade.

While finding the middle ground between the fast-paced T20Is and slow-paced Test has proved difficult, the Men in Blue have found the perfect tempo for the format which makes them stand out.

Moreover, it is their batting that inspires the most confidence, as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are two of the greatest players in the history of ODIs, and despite their struggles in Test cricket, they continue to dominate this format. The likes of Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill have world-record numbers over recent years in ODIs and KL Rahul has been exceptional in the middle-order role too.

Weakness: If there is one chink in India's armour, it is the pace-bowling unit, which has been devoid of the services of Jasprit Bumrah. The absence of a player of Bumrah's stature not only gives the opposition team a psychological advantage but has also left the Men in Blue's pace attack looking short on form and experience.

While Mohammed Shami's record in ODI cricket is second to none, he only made his comeback to international cricket last month after 14 months on the sidelines because of injury. The 34-year-old has played just two ODIs and T20Is each since his return and is still building rhythm and yet to find his best. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana have played just 12 ODIs combined so far in their careers

Opportunities: India has picked five spinners, which is a clear sign of the team backing their slower bowlers to outfox the opponents. While the likes of Adil Rashid and Adam Zampa are probably the best white-ball wrist spinners of this generation, it is hard to argue against India having the best all-round spin-bowling unit. Kuldeep Yadav has been in red-hot form across formats for the last two years, and Varun Chakravarthy's presence has added more variety to the unit.

However, it remains to be seen if India can fit both Varun and Kuldeep together. Although finger spinners have gone out of fashion in white-ball cricket, Ravindra Jadeja's records are better than anyone in world cricket in this format. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are also handy bowlers.

The presence of all-rounders like Axar Washington and Jadeja alongside Hardik Pandya offers the team at least six bowling options and reliable batting till number eight. This is the sort of depth India has lacked previously including in their dream run in the 2023 World Cup.

If there is one team that is as good as India in the format, it is Australia, as the 2023 World Cup final showed. However, the world champions are without five key players, including skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, and Marcus Stoinis. The Men in Blue will smell a big chance to lift the trophy with the two-time winners severely weakened.

Threats: While India's quality stands out, their biggest battle might come against themselves with their demons and overthinking. If the choice of pitch costs the Men in Blue in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final, the 2013 champions will hope to avoid any tactical blunder, which can prove costly in a short tournament like this with virtually no room for error. Ever since Gautam Gambhir's arrival last year, India's tactical calls across formats have been questioned, and hence, the spotlight will be on India's playing XI selection, batting order, and usage of bowlers.

Recently, there were reports of a dressing room unrest during the tour of Australia and all eyes of the cricketing world will be on the Indian camp to see if they have moved past the events Down Under.

Playing in Dubai, dew has been a huge factor in the past, which could mean India's punt on spinners could backfire and also make the matches toss-dependent. It is also not a place with happy memories for India in recent years, with forgettable campaigns in the 2021 T20 World Cup and 2022 Asia Cup. However, the last time India played ODI cricket at the Dubai International Stadium was in the 2018 Asia Cup, when they lifted the trophy.

Once again India will hope for Hardik Pandya to remain injury-free and hit peak form as he remains a player whose quality and skillset are irreplaceable Without him fit and firing, the 2023 World Cup finalist's balance will once again go for a toss.

Also Read: Pakistan Champions Trophy 2025 SWOT Analysis: Babar Azam Faces Litmus Test As Defending Champions Aim For Glory At Home

India Champions Trophy 2025 Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy

India Champions Trophy 2025 Likely XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami

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