5 players who won the Champions Trophy without playing a single match
The 2017 Champions Trophy is gradually entering the end of its group stage with Group A already entering its last leg of matches. So far, the tournament has been dampened by torrential downpour but whenever the game on the ground has gone on it has been pretty exciting. England are the only team who are confirmed of a place in the semi-finals and New Zealand are the only team who have been eliminated from the tournament after their defeat to Bangladesh yesterday.
With Sri Lanka beating India yesterday, Group B has become wide open with all four teams with a win each, making the last leg of Group B matches virtual quarter-finals.
Over the years, the Champions Trophy has seen many of cricket’s finest players play the tournament and many notable players have lifted the trophy. However, there have been some players who have won the tournament but they did not play a single match throughout the tournament. And today, we look at five such players.
#5 Irfan Pathan in 2013
Irfan Pathan was a part of the Indian squad for three Champions Trophies in 2004, 2006, and 2013. In 2004, Pathan took five wickets in two matches and in 2006, he took four wickets whilst scoring 29 runs with the bat.
Pathan was chosen for the team that would play the 2013 Champions Trophy and bowled five overs during India’s first warm-up match against Sri Lanka, conceding 45 runs and was promptly dropped for India’s second warm-up match against Australia.
With the likes of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Umesh Yadav bowling impressively against Australia, India decided to use this trio for their opening match against South Africa and went on to use the same playing XI for the remainder of the tournament. Pathan ended up not playing a single game as India lifted the Champions Trophy by defeating England in the final.