Recently retired Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has named his four semifinalists for the 2025 Champions Trophy, set to begin on February 19. The eight-team tournament will be divided into two groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals before the grand finale on March 9.
Group A comprises India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, while Group B includes Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. Ashwin, who played a crucial role in India’s 2013 Champions Trophy victory, backed Rohit Sharma’s side to secure a semifinal spot from Group A.
He predicted that New Zealand would join India in the final four, leaving out hosts Pakistan. For Group B, Ashwin picked ODI World Cup champions Australia as a semifinalist despite missing key players. He then chose England, their Ashes rivals, as the second semifinalist from the group.
Beyond his semifinal predictions, Ashwin also rated all eight participating teams on a scale of 100 based on their overall strength and balance. He ranked India and New Zealand as the strongest sides, awarding both a score of 85/100.
England secured the third spot on Ashwin’s list with a score of 81, followed by Australia at fourth with 78. Afghanistan and South Africa were placed fifth and sixth, earning scores of 70 and 68, respectively. Ashwin ranked hosts Pakistan second to last with a score of 55/100, while Bangladesh occupied the bottom spot with a rating of 40/100.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s Predicted Semifinalists for the 2025 Champions Trophy:
Group A: India, New Zealand
Group B: England, Australia
“I would have rated India 90 if Bumrah were in the squad”- Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin admitted that India’s overall rating for the 2025 Champions Trophy dropped from 90 to 85 due to the absence of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah suffered a back injury during the final Test of India’s recent tour of Australia, ruling him out of the tournament.
Discussing India’s squad for the marquee event on his YouTube channel, Ashwin stated [25:27]:
“I’ll give them 85. I would given India a 90 had Bumrah been there because India is completely different with him in the mix. The only concern for India in my view is that all their games are in Dubai.”
”Let’s say we lose all three tosses and are put into bat first because it’s chalk and cheese between day and night at this venue. So if opponents bat under lights, this 85 might start dropping.”
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