No Place For Liam Livingstone; England's Strongest XI For Champions Trophy 2025

Abhinav Tyagi

Jos Buttler- (Source:@Johns/X.com)Jos Buttler- (Source:@Johns/X.com)

On Sunday, December 22, England became the first team to announce their squad for Champions Trophy 2025. The prestigious fifty-over event will take place in Pakistan from February 19- March 9. 

Meanwhile, the Three Lions have made major changes to the squad as they dropped Ben Stokes, who is struggling with a hamstring injury and has brought Joe Root back to the ODI set-up. Here is England's squad for Champions Trophy 2025.

England's Squad For Champions Trophy 2025

Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood

Meanwhile, this article will shed light on England's strongest playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025.

Duckett And Salt To Open

Notably, Duckett is England's 2nd leading run-getter in ODIs in 2024 as he has 305 runs in just five matches that features a century and two fifties. Meanwhile, they also need Salt at the top to get the scoring rate in check. 

The left-right combo at the top is England's USP and the Three Lions would expect their opening pair to shine in Pakistan. 

The J's To Dominate Middle-Order

Joe Root has been called up by the England team, as he is yet to play an ODI in 2024. The selectors must have a specialised plan for Root to anchor the innings, as the rest of the batters would get a license to go hard at the bowlers. 

Further, budding star Jacob Bethell is another solid option, as he has shown promise in his recent outings across formats. Meanwhile, Harry Brook needs no introduction as he is England's leading run-getter in 2024 in ODIs and is an automatic choice in the playing XI. 

Why Liam Livingstone Fails To Make It To Playing XI?

Further, Bethell's selection over Liam Livingstone is because Bethell is a left-handed batter, and it is necessary for the Three Lions to have a left-right combo in the middle-order. 

Jos Buttler To Do The Finisher's Role For England

Skipper Jos Buttler would come late to hand with the license to go all guns blazing right from the first ball and provide the perfect finish to the innings. He has been batting in the middle-order in ODIs and will continue to do so. 

Jofra Archer And Mark Wood To Throw Bullets

Adil Rashid would be the sole spinner and he would be assisted by Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, and Brydon Carse. It is worth noting that Carse is England's joint-leading wicket-taker in ODIs in 2024 and his selection is unquestionable. Meanwhile, Wood and Archer would throw bullets, which is a necessity on a flat track like Pakistan.

England's Strongest XI

Ben Duckett

Phil Salt

Joe Root

Jacob Bethell

Jos Buttler (C) (wk)

Harry Brook

Jamie Overton

Adil Rashid

Brydon Carse

Jofra Archer

Mark Wood