Monty Panesar snubs England, backs India to win ICC Champions Trophy 2025 | Exclusive

Monty Panesar represented England in 50 tests in a career spanning between 2007 to 2013.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has made a bold prediction ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, backing India to clinch the title while expressing doubts about England’s current form in white-ball cricket.

Panesar, who played a key role for the Three Lions during his international career, believes India have emerged as the early favourites to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2015, citing parallels between their recent dominance and England’s successful World Cup run in 2019.

In an exclusive conversation with Khel Now Cricket during the Legends League Cricket 2024, Panesar pointed to India’s recent success in limited-overs cricket. “……from 2015 to 2019, England won 70 percent of the ODIs that led to the World Cup victory (in 2019). Now, what’s happened is that India won, I think, over 70% of the ODI and T20 cricket. So what happened? They won the T20 World Cup (2024),” he stated.

Drawing on this comparison, Panesar highlighted that history tends to favor teams with such dominant runs ahead of major tournaments. “So I think India looks like the strongest team now to win the Champions Trophy. Because history suggests teams that win 70% of the ODIs, they win the trophy because everyone knows their role now.”

In contrast, Panesar expressed concerns over England’s recent performances, suggesting their form has dropped since their World Cup triumph. “What’s happened with England is they’re winning 50%. It’s 50-50 like how it used to be in the 2000s and 1990s. They’ve won the World Cup, and it’s difficult to repeat it. Because you need a very good strategy,” he explained.

For Panesar, the momentum clearly lies with India, who are enjoying a four-year period of dominance similar to England’s pre-2019. “At the moment, the favourites are India, and I think India will probably win the Champions Trophy again because they’re having the same run as England had between 2015 to 2019. Now India are having that four-year period, so this is the best time to win trophies.”

With India riding high after their T20 World Cup 2024 victory and continuing their strong form in both ODIs and T20s, as well as in test cricket where they appear extremely likely to reach their third consecutive ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Panesar’s backing adds weight to the view that India are the team to beat in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Meanwhile, England will need to regroup and find the consistency that once made them world champions.

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