"It's not the same if you don't have a trophy to show" - Aakash Chopra lauds Team India star's performances in 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the Men in Blue's 2025 Champions Trophy win helped Mohammad Shami deservedly bag his maiden ICC trophy. He pointed out that the veteran seamer hadn't lifted an ICC trophy despite his stupendous record in such events, especially in the ODI format.

Shami registered figures 1/74 in nine overs as India restricted New Zealand to 251/7 in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. Rohit Sharma and company then achieved the target with four wickets and an over to spare to become the most successful team in the tournament's history.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener noted that Shami finally got rewarded for his exploits in ICC events.

"Mohammad Shami is Mr ICC. He had taken 205 (ODI) wickets before this match - fastest to 200 wickets by an Indian. He has been brilliant but it's his first ICC trophy. He has played a lot of trophies but hadn't been able to lift a trophy. The discussions were about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's fourth trophies, but no one was talking about Shami," he said (17:10).

"He picked up wickets and got the trophy in the end. So that's beautiful. When you put in so much hard work for so long, eventually, you get your due, and this was that time. You get praised, but it's not the same if you don't have a trophy to show. So I think that was poetic justice," Chopra added.

Mohammad Shami picked up nine wickets at an economy rate of 5.68 in five innings in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Although the Bengal seamer was expensive in the final, he picked up the crucial wicket of Daryl Mitchell, who top-scored for New Zealand with a 101-ball 63.

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"Gill must be seething inside" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill's performances in 2025 Champions Trophy

Shubman Gill scored 31 runs off 50 deliveries in the 2025 Champions Trophy final. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that Shubman Gill, who aggregated 188 runs at an average of 47.00 in five innings in the 2025 Champions Trophy, might be hurting because of his slightly below-par performances after a great start to the tournament.

"Gill must be seething inside. He is a talented player, but based on whatever I have understood him, he wants to be in the thick of action. He is no longer a kid, he has grown up, and has the skill to win games. He started the tournament with a hundred, was playing well against Pakistan, but then he just tapered off a little," he said (18:15).

The analyst praised Ravindra Jadeja for bagging his third ICC trophy with an impressive performance in the final.

"Sir Ravindra Jadeja - another ICC trophy. He tried a lot against New Zealand in 2019, but it just rounded off quite beautifully. He conceded only 30 runs in 10 overs, rocket throws while fielding, and the winning hit with the bat. There was a question whether he should be played or not. Well done, Ravindra Jadeja," Chopra observed.

Ravindra Jadeja registered figures of 1/30 in 10 overs and scored an unbeaten nine off six deliveries, including the winning boundary, in the 2025 Champions Trophy final. The spin-bowling all-rounder picked up five wickets, at an economy rate of 4.35, in as many games, and scored crucial 27 runs, while being dismissed just once, in his three innings in the tournament.