Suresh Raina makes a blunder predicting 2025 Champions Trophy semifinalists; picks three from same group [Watch]
Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina made a notable blunder while predicting the semifinalists for the 2025 Champions Trophy, selecting three teams from the same group. The prestigious tournament, set to begin on February 19, will feature eight teams in total.
Group A includes hosts Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, while Group B comprises Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. Only the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals.
When naming his top four teams for the tournament, Raina picked India, Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan. However, it's worth noting that Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan are all in Group B, meaning only two of these teams can make it to the semifinals.
Here’s a video of the moment:
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has backed hosts Pakistan, India, England, and Australia as his top four teams for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Former Indian opener Murali Vijay picked India, Pakistan, Australia, and South Africa, while Aakash Chopra selected India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Afghanistan as his top four picks.
Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar chose South Africa, Australia, India, and Pakistan, while Deep Dasgupta went with India, Pakistan, Australia, and England as his preferred semifinalists.
Suresh Raina names his ideal India XI for the 2025 Champions Trophy
In an intriguing decision, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina opted for Rishabh Pant over KL Rahul in his predicted India Playing XI for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Additionally, the 38-year-old chose to leave out Mohammed Shami.
Here’s Suresh Raina’s ideal India XI for the Champions Trophy, as shared on a Star Sports show:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Kuldeep Yadav.
India's squad for the marquee event: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), 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 Chakravarthy.