David Warner Out, Travis Head In; Australia’s 3 Massive Squad Changes For Champions Trophy

Travis Head with David Warner [Source: @TukTuk_Academy/X.com]

Australia are gearing up for another shot at ICC glory, fresh off their ODI World Cup 2023 win. Their next big challenge? The Champions Trophy 2025. Before the tournament kicks off,  Australia will play a one-off ODI against Sri Lanka to fine-tune their game and get into rhythm. Meanwhile, in this article, we will look at the massive squad changes for the Champions Trophy 2025, comparing them with Australia's 2017 squad.

The provisional squads for the tournament must be finalized by January 12, and with the tournament starting on February 19, teams are busy locking in their line-ups. The Champions Trophy will be hosted in a hybrid model, with Pakistan as the primary host and India’s matches played in the UAE due to ongoing political tensions between the two cricket boards.

As Australia prepare for the tournament, here are three major changes to their squad:

David Warner Out, Travis Head In

David Warner, a key player in Australia’s 2017 Champions Trophy campaign, will not be part of the 2025 edition. The left-handed batter announced his retirement last year. Age and declining form played a role in his decision to step away from the ODI format.

Warner’s recent performances have been underwhelming. In the 2017 Champions Trophy, he managed scores of 18, 40* (not out), and 21 runs. However, his career took a dip in the last few years, making way for new talent.

Australia are set to replace Warner with Travis Head, who has been in sensational form. Head was a key figure in Australia’s recent ODI World Cup victory, playing a match-winning knock against India in the final. He’s expected to take on an even bigger role in the Champions Trophy and getting promoted to open for Australia, providing stability at the top of the order and adding firepower to the batting line-up.

Steve Smith Out, Mitchell Marsh In

Steve Smith, who captained Australia in the 2017 Champions Trophy, will not be leading the side this time. After the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, Smith lost his captaincy. Despite being in good form, his leadership record in the 2017 tournament wasn’t great – Australia had two no-results and one loss, which knocked them out of the competition.

Pat Cummins, Australia’s current captain, was part of the 2017 squad and is expected to lead the side in 2025. However, there are concerns about Cummins’ fitness. He recently suffered an ankle injury, which might rule him out of the tournament.

If Cummins is unavailable, Mitchell Marsh is likely to step in as captain. Marsh, an experienced all-rounder, is currently the vice-captain of the ODI team and also leads Australia’s T20I side. Although he’s no longer part of the Test team, Marsh remains a vital player in Australia’s white-ball squads. He has played 93 ODIs and led Australia in nine matches in 2023 and 2024, winning four of them.

Josh Hazlewood Out, Jhye Richardson In

Josh Hazlewood, one of Australia’s top pacers, will miss the Champions Trophy due to ongoing calf and side strain issues. He has been a key part of Australia’s pace attack in past editions of the tournament, but his recurring injuries have ruled him out of this year’s campaign.

The man who is likely to step in for Hazlewood is Jhye Richardson. The 28-year-old fast bowler has been in impressive form since making his debut in 2018, picking up 27 wickets in 15 ODI innings. Richardson’s ability to swing the ball both ways makes him a dangerous weapon in the powerplay overs. He can form a formidable pace partnership with Mitchell Starc, adding depth to Australia’s bowling attack.

With Pat Cummins’ participation still uncertain, another potential replacement is Xavier Bartlett. The young pacer has been performing well in Australia’s domestic circuit and the Big Bash League (BBL), and got rewards by bagging an IPL contract in the recently-concluded auction.

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