India's star batter Shubman Gill has his sights set on the all-important Champions Trophy 2025. Shubman Gill has been handed a crucial responsibility as he will be Rohit Sharma deputy in the Champions Trophy which is set to start from February 19. The 25-year-old batter has expressed his strong desire to win the Champions Trophy 2025 title and said how important it will be keep securing wins throughout the tournament, acknowledging that their margin for error will be minimal.
The ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 is set to begin on February 19 and will culminate in the final on March 9. India will play all their matches in Dubai, as the ICC recently approved a hybrid model for the event.
Gill, who has been named vice-captain for the tournament, is expected to play a crucial role for India. The right-handed batsman has consistently delivered strong performances in ODIs, contributing significantly to numerous team wins. His leadership and batting prowess will be vital to India's chances in the Champions Trophy.
Shubman Gill's contributions were also instrumental in India's journey to the final of the ICC World Cup 2023. His opening partnership was a key factor in their success, and he delivered a crucial half-century in the semi-final against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Reflecting on his upcoming participation in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Gill shared that playing in ICC tournaments has always been a childhood dream. He recognizes the high stakes of the tournament, acknowledging that all the top cricketing nations will be competing, and therefore, India must be at their absolute best to succeed.
“I’m definitely very hungry, and it is something that you always dream of as a kid, and I’ve played one ICC tournament and came very close to winning a senior men’s trophy. There is no space for defeat only. I think the top teams are playing, and it’s very exciting and very grueling, and you know that you don’t have any margin of error, so that is very exciting," Gill said speaking to ICC.
Gill also reminisced about India's victory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He recalled watching the final from home and vividly remembers MS Dhoni's celebratory jump after the win, along with the iconic commentary from that memorable moment.
“I remember watching it from home. Whenever I think of that Champion’s Trophy, there are a couple of things that I remember. One is Mahi bhai jumping when he missed the Ashwin bhai ball, and I think they (England) needed five runs off the last ball," Gill added.
"The batsman misses, and then the commentators say, ‘The batsman misses, Dhoni misses, but it doesn’t matter,’ and then everybody is jumping and then seeing everyone dancing in the white coat when they were getting that trophy," he concluded.
India squad for Champions Trophy 2025:
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja