Former Pakistan cricketer picks his 2025 Champions Trophy playing 11; chooses no one from his country but 6 Indians

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali picked his 2025 Champions Trophy playing 11 after the tournament concluded with the final on Sunday, March 9, in Dubai. India clinched the title by defeating New Zealand by four wickets.

His team includes six players from India and none from his own country, Pakistan. Starting with the captain, Basit picked Rohit Sharma to lead the side, hailing the latter for his captaincy and his knock in the final. The former cricketer said that he considered the performances in Dubai over those in Pakistan while making his team.

"I have made my playing 11. I have looked at performances in Dubai. I agree that there have been big performances in Gaddafi but I have made the 11 which I felt is right. I will not go on the one made by ICC. My captain is Rohit Sharma. He has performed being a captain and his 76 in the final made the match one-sided," he on his YouTube channel 'Basit Ali' (from 7:25 onwards).

He then picked New Zealand opener Rachin Ravindra, Indian batters Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer at positions two, three, and four, respectively. Rachin slammed two hundreds while Kohli scored a hundred against Pakistan and 84 in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia. Shreyas ended as India's leading run-scorer in the tournament.

"Rachin Ravindra at number two. 2 centuries are a big thing. There is only one player at No.3 - Virat Kohli. He is an artist and only one who plays can understand how he played. I have kept Shreyas Iyer at 4. He has improved a lot. His batting has played a big role in India's win. In the semifinal and final, he has played well and took responsibility," the former cricketer added.

The 54-year-old picked KL Rahul as the wicketkeeper, along with Glenn Phillips and Azmatullah Omarzai for the next three slots.

"At No.5 is KL Rahul. Wicket-keeper and a complete batter. The best fielder at No.6 - Glenn Phillips. He is a dangerous bowler and a dangerous batter as well. At No.7 is Azmatullah Omarzai. He showed that he is a brilliant all-rounder in the times to come," he explained.

Coming to the bowlers, he was caught between Axar Patel and Mitchell Santner but went with Santner eventually. He also picked Varun Chakaravarthy along with Matt Henry and Mohammad Shami as the two pacers in his 2025 Champions Trophy team.

"Axar Patel or Mitchell Santner come next. My 70% vote is for Santner and 30% for Axar. Matt Henry at No.9. He performed well in this tournament. Shami at 10. He came from injury and bowled well here like he did in the World Cup. At 11 is Varun Chakaravarthy. The way he performed coming after two games was too good. This is my team," he concluded.

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Basit Ali's 2025 Champions Trophy playing 11

Rohit Sharma (c), Rachin Ravindra, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Glenn Phillips, Azamtullah Omarzai, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Mohammad Shami, and Varun Chakaravarthy.