ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Wicket-keepers of all participating teams

ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to start on February 19.

The ICC Champions Trophy is making its long-awaited return after an eight-year break, with the last edition taking place in 2017 in England. The competition is regarded as one of the toughest ICC tournaments as the top eight teams of ODI cricket compete against each other, leaving no easy games for any team.

The upcoming tournament will begin on February 19, 2025 in Karachi and conclude with the final on March 9 in Lahore (or Dubai if India qualify). It will feature eight teams, divided into two groups – Group A and Group B.

Group A includes hosts Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, while Group B features Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan.

With all the teams having named their squads for the competition, let’s take a look at the wicket-keepers of all the participating teams.

ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Wicket-keepers of all participating teams

India

The Indian Cricket Team has picked KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as their wicket-keeping options for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Rahul impressed everyone with his performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, scoring 452 runs in the tournament, while Rishabh Pant has been included as an X-factor in the lineup.

Rahul is expected to start, but Pant could find his way into the XI in case of an injury, even as a specialist batsman.

Pakistan

Captain Mohammad Rizwan will take on wicket-keeping duties for Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He has been Pakistan’s best batsman in limited-overs cricket over the last few years.

The middle-order batsman was at his best against South Africa in the Pakistan Tri-Series game, where he scored an unbeaten 122 to help the hosts chase down 352 runs in Karachi.

Australia

Alex Carey and Josh Inglis will travel to Pakistan as Australia’s wicket-keepers for the Champions Trophy 2025.

The duo were also part of Australia’s World Cup-winning campaign in 2023. While Alex Carey started the tournament, he was later dropped for Inglis, who displayed good form.

Both players performed well in Australia’s recently-concluded test series against Sri Lanka. Both of them are expected to start, especially in the absence of big names – Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis in the batting lineup.

England

Phil Salt will take on wicket-keeping duties for England in the upcoming Champions Trophy 025. Captain Jos Buttler is expected to play as a specialist batsman due to his frequent injuries over the last two years.

Salt got starts against India in the recently-concluded ODI series, but couldn’t convert them into big scores. England will be hoping for big runs from their star in the tournament.

South Africa

South Africa have shown immense consistency in recent ICC tournaments. The Proteas reached the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final after their impressive run in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

Tristian Stubbs and Heinrich Klaasen have been selected as wicket-keeping options by South Africa for the Champions Trophy 2025.

Both players are expected to feature in the strongest XI, with Klaasen likely to be preferred as the first-choice keeper.

New Zealand

New Zealand have plenty of wicket-keeping options. The Kiwis have three players who can keep wickets in the upcoming tournament: Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, and Devon Conway.

Captain Latham is expected to take on wicket-keeping duties, while Glenn Phillips will play as an all-rounder role with his off-spin bowling.

Afghanistan

Regarded as the dark horses for the tournament, Afghanistan have named two wicket-keepers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Akhil, for the Champions Trophy 2025.

Gurbaz displayed excellent consistency in ODI cricket in 2023, helping Afghanistan secure remarkable series victories over Bangladesh and South Africa. Ikram is expected to be benched in the early stages of the tournament.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh have named Mushfiqur Rahim as their wicket-keeper for the tournament.

The 37-year-old has played 272 ODIs in his career scoring 7793 run at an average of 37 and strike rate of 80.

Coming to the competition without Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh will count on Rahim’s experience to sail them through the tournament.

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