Rohit Not Included in Champions Trophy Best XI, Santner Named Captain

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recently announced the "Team of the Tournament" for the 2025 Champions Trophy. After a tough battle, New Zealand was defeated in the final of the Champions Trophy last night. The following day, the ICC revealed the best team of the tournament, with six players from the winning team, India. However, despite being named Player of the Match in the final, Rohit Sharma was left out of the squad.

This year’s best XI saw a dominance of Indian players, with five Indian cricketers making the cut. The captain of the team is New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner. Surprisingly, Indian captain Rohit Sharma did not make the final XI. Rohit’s captaincy throughout the tournament had been highly praised, yet he was excluded from the team.

Four players from the defeated New Zealand squad were selected for the team, while two Afghan players also made it to the list. Ibrahim Zadran from Afghanistan and all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai were included. Axar Patel was named as the 12th player.

ICC Champions Trophy 2025 – Best XI:

1. Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) – 251 runs (Average 62.75), two centuries.
2. Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan) – 216 runs (Average 72), one century.
3. Virat Kohli (India) – 218 runs (Average 54.5), one century.
4. Shreyas Iyer (India) – 243 runs (Average 48.6), two fifties.
5. KL Rahul (India, Wicketkeeper) – 140 runs (Average 140).
6. Glenn Phillips (New Zealand) – 177 runs (Average 59), 2 wickets, 5 catches.
7. Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan) – 126 runs (Average 42), 7 wickets (including one 5-wicket haul).
8. Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) – 7 wickets, 30 runs.
9. Varun Chakravarthy (India) – 7 wickets.
10. Mohammad Shami (India) – 8 wickets.
11. Matt Henry (New Zealand) – 10 wickets.