Head And…? 3 Players Who Need To Deliver If Australia Want To Win Champions Trophy 2025
Travis Head with World Cup Trophy (Source:@akkuslc/X.com)
The Champions Trophy 2025 is all set to start from 19th of February, and it promises to be a cracking tournament with eight world-class teams going head-to-head. One of them is Australia who are the winners of World Cup 2023, and have always dominated most of the ICC tournaments since the dawn of the 21st century.
They have won the Champions Trophy two times before, and would be hoping to get a hand on the trophy again as it returns to the cricketing calendar after the gap of eight years. Australia are a team full of match-winners and the winning mentality they bring to the table sets them apart and it would be something that is likely to play a big part in this tournament too.
However, all teams have some players who have the ability to win games for their side single-handedly. Australia have quite a few of them, and here are the three players from their Champions Trophy squad who can be match-winners.
1. Travis Head
The Australian southpaw has been in great form across formats and his aggressive approach has played a big role in Australia's success in recent times. He was the game-changer in the final of the 2023 World Cup against India when he smashed 137 to take Australia home and overall scored 252 runs during five ODIs in 2024 where notched up his runs at an average of 63 and strike-rate of 120.
He has played three matches in Champions Trophy so far where he scored a fifty, and given his form and the ability to get going from ball one, he would be crucial for Australia's chances in Champions Trophy 2025.
2. Mitchell Starc
The left-arm seamer is known to deliver on the big stage and has the ability to run through best of the batting line-ups on his day. Starc also has the ability to take the pitch out of equation with his yorkers and special skills, and that makes him a real asset on flat decks in Pakistan.
Starc has a great record in ODI cricket with 244 wickets in just 127 innings with a superb average of 23.40. He has 12 four-wicket hauls and nine fifers. He has played just four matches in Champions Trophy history so far, but the pacer has a stunning record in ODI World Cups with 65 wickets in 28 matches. So, for Australia to do well in the tournament, it is important that their leading white-ball pacer does well and delivers both with the new ball and at the death.
3. Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell is a genuine match-winner and his performances over the years have proved that. Like Travis Head and Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell too has the ability to deliver in crunch situations, and one of the classic example of it was his double century against Afghanistan in World Cup 2023 when they were down and out.
Maxwell has scored his runs in ODIs at a strike-rate of 126.35 and his finishing skills would be crucial for Australia against big teams. Also, the Big Show has the ability to bat anywhere in the batting order according to the situation of the game and can be handy with his off-breaks in Pakistan conditions. He has a good average in 50-over ICC tournaments with 40.50 in Champions Trophy and 47.42 in in World Cups.
Thus, Glenn Maxwell is a crucial asset for Australia if they want to win their third ICC Champions Trophy.