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The anticipation for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is already soaring, with the tournament set to take place in Pakistan and the UAE. Cricket fans are eager to witness some of the biggest stars in action as top teams battle for the prestigious title. With the return of the Champions Trophy after an eight-year gap, the excitement is at an all-time high. The subcontinental conditions, expected to favor both pacers and spinners at different venues, will make for an intriguing contest between bat and ball.
Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting pick their leading run-getters of Champions Trophy 2025
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and Australian legend Ricky Ponting have made their predictions for the tournament’s highest run-getter. While speaking on the ICC Review Podcast, Shastri backed India’s young batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal to shine in the competition.
“The ball will start turning later; it’s not gonna be easy. I’ll look for the finalist, and looking at form, I’ll go with Yashasvi Jaiswal,” said Shastri, expressing confidence in the young left-hander’s ability to dominate in challenging conditions.
Ponting, on the other hand, chose Australia’s star batter Travis Head as his pick for the leading run-scorer. He highlighted Head’s exceptional performances in big matches, including his heroics in the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
“Well, Ravi said he likes left-handers, so I’m gonna stick to the left-handers’ theme and I’m gonna go with Travis Head. He’s just been crowned Australia’s Allan Border Medallist, which is Australia’s Cricketer of the Year. Think back to the big games he played lately, think back to the last 50-over World Cup—magnificent there. Another great summer in Australia in the Test series against India in some very tough conditions. He’s just playing the game mentally in a different way than a lot of players right now. These bigger games and bigger tournaments seem to suit him really well. I’ll go with Travis Head,” explained Ponting.
Also READ: Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting predict the finalists of Champions Trophy 2025
Ponting and Shastri predict the tournament’s top wicket-takers
When it came to predicting the highest wicket-taker of the Champions Trophy 2025, Ponting backed Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa, citing his effectiveness in limited-overs cricket and his ability to take wickets in crucial moments.
“I’m gonna go for Adam Zampa. Once again someone who’s gonna go through the final, conditions will spin I think in the back end of this tournament, I think there will be the conditions that help spinners. I think the help Adam Zampa always gets is on the back of Australia’s fast bowlers because the fast bowlers are doing such a great job at one end and when he comes into the attack and batters, they can’t afford just to sit on him so they gotta go after him a liitle bit more knowing they are not getting easy runs from the other end and he picks up lots of wickets. I think he is Australia’s key player in the whole tournament so I’m gonna go with Zampa,” explained Ponting.
Shastri, meanwhile, backed Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav but also mentioned Australian speedster Mitchell Starc as a dangerous contender.
“I would go with Kuldeep Yadav for India and I’d say Mitchell Starc, don’t rule out Starc because as a fast bowler in those conditions, the ball reverses and he can be lethal. He can do the cleanup job at the end. So I would put Yadav and then If there was a fast bowler, I’d pick Starc,” added Shastri.
