ICC Champions Trophy: Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton's predictions, including how England will do

Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton share their predictions for the ICC Champions Trophy, which is live on Sky Sports from February 19 to March 9.

The Sky Sports pundits name their tournament favourites, how they expect England to do, and select the players they are particularly looking forward to seeing in action over the coming weeks.

Every game is live on Sky Sports with England – looking to rebound from a defeat-laden tour of India – facing a depleted Australia side in their opening match in Lahore on Saturday February 22.

Winners

NASSER HUSSAIN: I did something for the ICC about six weeks ago and I had Australia as favourites but take five players out of that team – Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Marcus Stoinis – and that is a serious loss.

They have gone back into the pack a little bit and I now have India as the team to beat, albeit they are without possibly the best player on the planet right now in Jasprit Bumrah.

If you look at their batting reserves and spin department, the way they played against England recently and the way they play generally in bilateral cricket, they look strong.

They play all their games in Dubai, know the conditions and won’t have to travel. On paper, they are the best side now.

MICHAEL ATHERTON: Like Nasser, I think India being based in Dubai will help them massively.

Spin looks like it is going to be a really strong point of their game in the absence of Bumrah – I am also not sure Mohammed Shami is absolutely back to his best yet either – and you would think it would be more effective in the UAE than Pakistan.

But you also look at their strength in depth. If they can leave out a player like Yashasvi Jaiswal, who would probably get in any other squad in the world, it shows how much talent they have.

Saying that, some of their batters have not exactly been firing on all cylinders – Virat Kohli and, until his hundred against England, Rohit Sharma. But they have just beaten England 3-0 and if you look at their record in the last couple of years they have been very strong.

For me, they start as obvious favourites but maybe New Zealand have a squeak of challenging them. They have played a lot of cricket in Pakistan and are running into decent form, while they have a lot of firepower and experience and a very clever spinner in captain Mitchell Santner.

I quite like South Africa as well. When they get their best team out – which they haven’t always been able to do – they are pretty formidable.

How will England do?

NASSER: I think England will be a little bit scarred from the India tour but not only that. They haven’t been great in white-ball cricket since winning the 2022 T20 World Cup.

At that stage, they held both World Cup titles simultaneously but now they have lost both of those and been beaten in their last four bilateral ODI series.

However, I think they will be buoyed by being in Pakistan as the wickets there are generally flat and that suits their style of play.

It’s a place where you need batters who go hard, a wrist spinner – and they have one of the best in Adil Rashid – and speed with the ball through the air. Their pace attack could be useful, although it’s not all about pace, it’s about skill as well.

They just need to make sure they go bigger with the bat. Sides that win games score big hundreds – Travis Head for Australia in the World Cup final, Shubman Gill and Rohit for India against England recently. Sixties are good but don’t win you games.

If you get out after the powerplay you expose your middle order to spin so the likes of Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Tom Banton need to bat through.

The injury crisis for Australia helps England’s bid to get out of the group. That first game is an opportunity now and if they can win that one, then it boosts confidence and they will see the tour of India as a bit of a blip.

If they lose it, they have Afghanistan – who have excellent spinners and batters – and South Africa, both of whom they lost to in the 2023 World Cup, then it becomes difficult.

If England play to their potential, which they haven’t done for a while, then I think they can get out of the group. But I am not sure they can win it, although the short nature of this tournament means everyone is a contender.

ATHERS: I think England will struggle to get out of their group. The Australia game now looks a lot more winnable than it might have done with all their injuries but the South Africa and Afghanistan matches are really tough.

A good result for England would be reaching the semi-finals given the way they have been playing and the recent results but I am not that confident.

It will be quite a high-scoring competition in Pakistan on good pitches – in the recent triangular series between Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa, most scores were over 300.

You need players to make hundreds and England haven’t been doing that of late, while a lot of players who have hit centuries for them are no longer involved, including Dawid Malan.

They didn’t pick spin well in India, although that may have less consequence in Pakistan, and their bowling has looked a bit one-dimensional at times so they will do well to get out of the group.

Leading wicket-taker and run-scorer?

NASSER: I am saying India will win it and therefore play the most games, so I will pick Arshdeep Singh as leading wicket-taker. He has only played nine ODIs so far but is India’s highest T20 international wicket-taker and can bowl at the start and end of an innings.

For run-scorer, I will say Gill. Rohit loves the Champions Trophy and ICC events in general but Gill is in the form of his life in this format.

Rohit’s form has dwindled in Test cricket of late against New Zealand and Australia, culminating in him leaving himself out of that format over the winter.

I almost feel it was like he climbed his mountain, to be honest. Within a year, he lost a 50-over World Cup final and then won a 20-over World Cup final from a losing position.

The ups and downs of being an India player and captain probably took its toll and affected his game in red-ball cricket, but not white-ball cricket and he looks somewhere back to his best, adding to India’s strength.

ATHERS: I will go for South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen as leading run-scorer as he is in hot form. Perhaps you should go for an opener or someone in the top three but he is a top-notch short-form player and should get plenty of opportunities.

For wicket-taker I was going to say England leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who really is a master of his craft now, but as I have my doubts about them making the semi-finals, I will go for India’s Kuldeep Yadav.

I love watching him bowl. He is a really attacking spinner with plenty of variety and is playing in a part of the world that will help spin more.

And another player you are looking forward to seeing?

NASSER: Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman. I think he could light up the tournament.

I haven’t seen him for a while as he has been in and out of their side but he scored that brilliant hundred in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against India at The Oval

He is a dynamic shot-maker at the top of the order, perhaps someone his side have really missed of late, and since he has come back in, he has got some runs.

Pakistan are hosting a global ICC event for the first time since 1996 and that is a big thing for them. If the team are to play well, I think Fakhar may have to get them off to a flier. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan can then play around him.

ATHERS: I would say Gill for India.

He is a very stylish player at the top of the order and, as Nass says, is in excellent form, scoring over 250 runs in that ODI series against England with two fifties and then a hundred in the final game.

For Pakistan, hosting their first global ICC event in almost 30 years, a safe and successful tournament will shine a light on international cricket in the country after a long absence.

There is huge passion for the game there and it is a massive opportunity for Pakistan.

ICC Champions Trophy schedule

All games 9am UK and Ireland

Group A

• February 19: Pakistan vs New Zealand (Karachi)
• February 20: Bangladesh vs India (Dubai)
• February 23: Pakistan vs India (Dubai)
• February 24: Bangladesh vs New Zealand (Rawalpindi)
• February 27: Pakistan vs Bangladesh (Rawalpindi)
• March 2: New Zealand vs India (Dubai)

Group B

• February 21: Afghanistan vs South Africa (Karachi)
• February 22: Australia vs England (Lahore)
• February 25: Australia vs South Africa (Rawalpindi)
• February 26: Afghanistan vs England (Lahore)
• February 28: Afghanistan vs Australia (Lahore)
• Mar 1: South Africa vs England (Karachi)

Semi-finals

• March 4: Semi-final (Dubai)
• March 5: Semi-final 2 (Lahore)

Final

• March 9: Final (Lahore or Dubai)

Watch every match from the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy live on Sky Sports between February 19 and March 9 or stream with NOW.

Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker and the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch will be live on Saturday February 22 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!