One of the most exciting moments during the England leg was the return of the coveted silverware to The Oval, the site of the memorable 2017 Champions Trophy final where Pakistan emerged victorious. The setting provided a nostalgic backdrop, amplifying the excitement surrounding the tournament. England wicket-keeper Jamie Smith, who is set to play in his first Champions Trophy, expressed his excitement and looked forward to competing in Pakistan. Smith shared his expectations for the tournament and talked about England’s ambitions as they gear up for the prestigious event.

Beyond the cricketing excitement, the trophy also made its way to some of London’s most iconic landmarks. From Tower Bridge and Big Ben to the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, and Borough Market, the tour celebrated cricket’s global heritage while embracing the city’s vibrant culture. These moments captured the attention of fans and reinforced the connection between cricket and England’s world-renowned landmarks.

Following successful stops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, the England leg of the Trophy Tour was yet another milestone in the buildup to the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. Now, the excitement shifts towards India, with the trophy set to embark on its next chapter in Mumbai, Bangalore, and other major cities. Fans in India can look forward to another round of fan engagement and activities as the countdown to the tournament continues.

Adding to the excitement, earlier this week, the Indian cricket team revealed its 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, alongside the ODI series against England. Led by Rohit Sharma and featuring key players such as Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Jasprit Bumrah, Team India is gearing up to make a strong push for glory in the tournament.

The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 Trophy Tour, with its global journey, is successfully generating anticipation and uniting cricket fans from across the world, bringing the spirit of the tournament to life as it makes its way through the eight participating nations.

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The BCCI stated that the Men’s Selection Committee will finalize the squad for both the IDFC First Bank ODI series against England and the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy. Fans and experts alike are eagerly anticipating the composition of the squad, especially with the Champions Trophy just around the corner.

India’s Upcoming Fixtures

Before the ODI series, India will first take on England in a five-match T20I series starting January 22. The series will kick off in Kolkata, followed by matches in Chennai on January 25, Rajkot on January 28, Pune on January 31, and concluding in Mumbai on February 2.

The ODI series will follow the T20Is, with the first match scheduled for February 6. This series serves as important preparation for the Indian team ahead of their next major international assignment – the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be held from February 19 to March 9, with a unique hybrid model in which some matches will be hosted in Pakistan and others in the UAE. India is set to play all its matches in the UAE. The tournament will feature eight teams and a total of 15 matches, all played in the 50-over format.

India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign on February 20, when they face Bangladesh in their opening match. This will be followed by a much-anticipated encounter against Pakistan on February 23 in Dubai. India’s final league match is scheduled for March 2, where they will square off against New Zealand.

Tournament Structure

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be divided into two groups. Group A consists of hosts Pakistan, India, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, while Group B includes the 2023 Cricket World Cup champions Australia, along with Afghanistan, England, and South Africa.

India’s fixtures in Group A promise to be highly competitive, with their matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand likely to be among the most watched of the tournament.

Conclusion

With the ODI series against England and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 approaching, India’s squad selection will be under intense scrutiny. As the tournament draws nearer, the Indian cricket team will be looking to build on their recent successes and prepare for a challenging yet exciting few weeks of international cricket. Fans across the world will be watching closely as the squad announcement unfolds this Saturday.

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Rajeev Shukla, speaking at the Special General Meeting (SGM) in Mumbai, confirmed to reporters, “IPL is going to start from March 23.”

Looking back, IPL 2024 kicked off on March 22, with Royal Challengers Bangalore facing Chennai Super Kings. The season concluded with a thrilling final on May 26 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Kolkata Knight Riders, who claimed the IPL 2024 title, are the defending champions heading into the 2025 season.

In addition to announcing the IPL start date, Shukla also shared that the venues for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) have been finalized and will be disclosed shortly.

IPL 2025 Team Squads

Here are the key players for each IPL franchise as we look forward to the 2025 season:

Mumbai Indians:

• Batters: Suryakumar Yadav (retained), Rohit Sharma (retained), Tilak Varma (retained), Bevan-John Jacobs
• Wicketkeepers: Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Krishnan Shrijith
• All-rounders: Hardik Pandya (pace; retained), Naman Dhir (spin; RTM), Will Jacks (spin), Raj Angad Bawa (pace), Vignesh Puthur (spin)
• Spinners: Allah Ghazanfar, Karn Sharma, Mitchell Santner
• Fast bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah (retained), Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams

Chennai Super Kings:

• Batters: Ruturaj Gaikwad (retained), Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Deepak Hooda, Andre Siddarth
• Wicketkeepers: Devon Conway, MS Dhoni (retained), Vansh Bedi
• All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja (spin; retained), Shivam Dube (pace; retained), R Ashwin (spin), Sam Curran (pace), Rachin Ravindra (spin; RTM), Vijay Shankar (pace), Anshul Kamboj (pace), Jamie Overton (pace), Ramakrishna Ghosh (pace)
• Spinners: Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal
• Fast bowlers: Matheesha Pathirana (retained), Khaleel Ahmed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

• Batters: Virat Kohli (retained), Rajat Patidar (retained), Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara
• Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma
• All-rounder: Liam Livingstone (spin), Krunal Pandya (spin), Swapnil Singh (spin), Romario Shepherd (pace), Jacob Bethell (spin), Mohit Rathee (spin)
• Spinners: Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh
• Fast bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal (retained), Rasikh Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi

Kolkata Knight Riders:

• Batters: Rinku Singh (retained), Rovman Powell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane
• Wicketkeepers: Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz
• All-rounders: Venkatesh Iyer (pace), Andre Russell (pace; retained), Sunil Narine (spin; retained), Ramandeep Singh (pace; retained), Anukul Roy (spin), Moeen Ali (spin)
• Spinners: Varun Chakravarthy (retained), Mayank Markande
• Fast bowlers: Harshit Rana (retained), Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Umran Malik

Punjab Kings:

• Batters: Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh (retained), Nehal Wadhera, Harnoor Singh Pannu, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash
• Wicketkeepers: Josh Inglis, Vishnu Vinod, Prabhsimran Singh (retained)
• All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell (spin), Marcus Stoinis (pace), Marco Jansen (pace), Harpreet Brar (spin), Azmatullah Omarzai (pace), Aaron Hardie (pace), Musheer Khan (spin), Suryansh Shedge (pace)
• Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal, Pravin Dubey
• Fast bowlers: Arshdeep Singh (RTM), Lockie Ferguson, Yash Thakur, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Kuldeep Sen, Xavier Bartlett

Lucknow Super Giants:

• Batters: Aiden Markram, David Miller, Ayush Badoni (retained), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke
• Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran (retained), Aryan Juyal
• All-rounders: Abdul Samad (spin), Mitchell Marsh (pace), Shahbaz Ahmed (spin), Yuvraj Chaudhary (spin), Rajvardhan Hangargekar (pace), Arshin Kulkarni (Pace)
• Spinners: Ravi Bishnoi (retained), M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh
• Fast bowlers: Mayank Yadav (retained), Mohsin Khan (retained), Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav

Delhi Capitals:

• Batters: Jake Fraser-McGurk (RTM), Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs (retained), Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair
• Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul, Abishek Porel (retained), Donovan Ferreria
• All-rounders: Axar Patel (spin; retained), Ashutosh Sharma (spin), Sameer Rizvi (spin), Darshan Nalkande (pace), Vipraj Nigam (spin), Ajay Mandal (spin), Manvanth Kumar (pace), Tripurana Vijay (spin), Madhav Tiwari (pace)
• Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav (retained)
• Fast bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera

Gujarat Titans:

• Batters: Shubman Gill (retained), Sai Sudharsan (retained), Rahul Tewatia (retained), Sherfane Rutherford
• Wicketkeepers: Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat
• All-rounders: Rashid Khan (spin; retained), Washington Sundar (spin), M Shahrukh Khan (spin; retained), Mahipal Lomror (spin), Nishant Sindhu (spin), Arshad Khan (pace), Jayant Yadav (spin), Glenn Phillips (spin), Karim Janat (pace)
• Spinners: Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore
• Fast bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gerald Coetzee, Gurnoor Brar, Ishant Sharma, Kulwant Khejroliya

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

• Batters: Travis Head (retained), Abhinav Manohar, Aniket Verma, Sachin Baby
• Wicketkeepers: Heinrich Klaasen (retained), Ishan Kishan, Atharva Taide
• All-rounders: Abhishek Sharma (spin; retained), Nitish Kumar Reddy (pace; retained), Kamindu Mendis (spin)
• Spinners: Adam Zampa, Rahul Chahar, Zeeshan Ansari
• Fast bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins (retained), Harshal Patel, Simarjeet Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga

Rajasthan Royals:

• Batters: Yashasvi Jaiswal (retained), Shimron Hetmyer (retained), Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi
• Wicketkeepers: Sanju Samson (retained), Dhruv Jurel (retained), Kunal Singh Rathore
• All-rounders: Riyan Parag (spin; retained), Nitish Rana (spin), Yudhvir Singh (pace)
• Spinners: Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kumar Kartikeya
• Fast bowlers: Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma (retained), Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma

With the IPL 2025 season just around the corner, the excitement is building as these talented squads get ready to take the field!

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The six-team tournament will run for a month, featuring group stages where each team faces every other team twice. The competition will culminate in the grand final on February 9, 2025.

ILT20 2025 Schedule

The tournament will commence on January 11, with the final scheduled for February 9, 2025. Matches will begin at 7:30 PM IST, while double-header days will see games starting at 3:30 PM IST.

Venues

The 2025 season of ILT20 will be played across three iconic venues: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Where to Watch ILT20 2025 Live

For cricket fans in India, the ILT20 2025 will be broadcast live on ZEE Network TV channels. The live streaming of the matches will be available on the Fancode application and website, offering fans the convenience of watching the action online.

ILT20 2025 Squads

Here’s a look at the squads for each team in the 2025 ILT20 season:

• Abu Dhabi Knight Riders
  Captain: Sunil Narine
  Key Players: Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Charith Asalanka, David Willey, Roston Chase.
• Desert Vipers
  Captain: Lockie Ferguson
  Key Players: Alex Hales, Mohammad Amir, Sam Curran, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sherfane Rutherford.
• Dubai Capitals
  Captain: David Warner
  Key Players: Rovman Powell, Sikandar Raza, Dushmantha Chameera, Zahir Khan, Haider Ali.
• Gulf Giants
  Captain: James Vince
  Key Players: Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, Mark Adair, Tim David, Tymal Mills.
• MI Emirates
  Captain: Nicholas Pooran
  Key Players: Kieron Pollard, Romario Shepherd, Andre Fletcher, Akeal Hosein, Kusal Perera.
• Sharjah Warriorz
  Captain: Tim Southee
  Key Players: Adil Rashid, Ashton Agar, Jason Roy, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Matthew Wade.

With a star-studded lineup and high stakes, the ILT20 2025 is expected to deliver non-stop entertainment for cricket enthusiasts across the globe. The tournament promises fierce competition as teams battle for the coveted title in the UAE’s premier T20 competition.

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The franchise, owned by Shubh Infra, a real estate firm, unveiled its logo last week—a majestic roaring lion symbolizing strength, courage, and resilience. The logo reflects the fighting spirit the Haryana Gladiators aim to bring to the field.

Harish Garg, Director of Shubh Infra, expressed his strong belief in the Gladiators’ ability to perform well in the tournament. “The Haryana Gladiators are more than just a cricket team; they represent the fighting spirit and pride of Haryana. We are confident that the Gladiators will set a benchmark in this exciting new league format,” he said in a release from the Legend 90 League.

Sunny Sehgal, also a Director at Shubh Infra, reinforced this optimism, emphasizing the thoughtful planning behind building a strong squad. “With the roaring lion as our logo, we are sending out a clear message: the Gladiators are here to fight and conquer. Fans can expect nothing less than thrilling cricket from us in the Legend 90 League,” he added.

The Legend 90 League, known for its 90-ball format, is set to change the way fans experience cricket. The league has already attracted significant attention, especially with former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was present at its launch event. Harbhajan, the brand ambassador of the league, expressed his excitement for the new format and its potential to bring fans closer to the game and to their cricketing heroes.

The tournament will feature seven franchises and 90 legendary players, promising a high-octane, entertaining cricketing experience. With the unique format and participation of iconic cricketers, the Legend 90 League is poised to be a spectacular sporting event.

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