Not Rohit, Kohli! These 3 X Factors Can Help India Win Champions Trophy 2025

Anurag Dasgupta

3 X factors for India [Source: @LoyalSachinFan/X.Com] 3 X factors for India [Source: @LoyalSachinFan/X.Com]

All the teams have officially announced their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 and the caravan is set to commence in the next 19 days as the sides will fight it out for the coveted trophy. One of the tournament favourites is India and they announced their squad two weeks ago, with plethora talent in the side.

The squad has a great mixture of youth and experience and the players know what it takes to win matches in crucial ICC tournaments. However, to win the Champions Trophy 2025, not only the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have to be at their best, but others should also play above their capability and they could turn out to be Team India's X-factor.

Here are 3 such players who can turn out to be the surprising packages who can help India win the coveted Champions Trophy 2025.

3) Hardik Pandya

Perhaps India's most underrated match-winner at the moment. Hardik Pandya's all-round abilities will hold the key if India are to clinch the Champions Trophy title. He'll have the responsibility to bat as a finisher and moreover, his 10 overs will also hold the key.

Hardik has a knack of picking crucial wickets and thus, he becomes India's X-factor. Last time Hardik played a 50-over ICC tournament for India, the star all-rounder grabbed 5 wickets, and almost all of them were at crucial junctures. Prior to the World Cup in 2023, he was instrumental in India's win Vs Pakistan in the Asia Cup, where he dismissed Babar Azam and turned the game in India's favour.

2) Arshdeep Singh

In case Jasprit Bumrah misses Champions Trophy due to a back injury, the presence of Arshdeep Singh becomes 10-times more important.

Irrespective of Bumrah's fitness, Arshdeep will play in the starting XI and after a long period of time, India have found a quality left-arm pacer who is potent at every phase. He can take wickets at the top, and can also come in the death overs to snatch wickets for his side.

The left-arm pacer has had a knack of playing his best in ICC tournaments. In the T20 World Cup 2022, he finished as India's leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps. Also, in the title winning 2024 T20 World Cup, Arshdeep went one step further and finished with 17 wickets, showcasing his ability to step up in big tournaments.

Expect him to deliver the goods once again as India look to win the Champions Trophy since the 2013 edition.

1) Shreyas Iyer

The importance of Shreyas Iyer and his batting position cannot be ruled out for India's chances in the coveted tournament. Iyer is perhaps one of those middle-order batters who can work both as an anchor and as an aggressive batter, depending on the match situation.

In the 50-over format, the top-4 holds a crucial role and India actually have a solid top-4 with Iyer occupying the number 4 slot.

The conditions in Dubai is likely to favour the spinners and Iyer is one of those Indian batters who plays spin really well and can be the game changers in the middle-order. In the last 50-over tournament he played, Iyer finished with 530 runs in 11 matches with a strike-rate of 113. His semi-finale knock of 105 off 70 was crucial as India dominated the Kiwis to reach the grand finale.