ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Who will lead their team the best? – Captaincy Watch Thread

[FearlessRoar]

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be a true test of leadership, where captains won’t just need skill but also the ability to thrive under pressure. With high-stakes games and unpredictable conditions, the right decisions at the right time could define the tournament. Who will handle the heat best? Who will make the smartest tactical calls? And who might struggle when the pressure is on?

Captains in Focus:​

Temba Bavuma (South Africa)
Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
Rohit Sharma (India)
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan)
Nazmul Hossain Shanto (Bangladesh)
Jos Buttler (England)
Steven Smith (Australia)
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand)

Stat Spotlight:​

Most Player of the Match Awards as Captain in ICC Events:
4 – AB de Villiers (22 matches)
4 – Sourav Ganguly (22 matches)
4 – Mahela Jayawardene (28 matches)
4 – Kane Williamson (38 matches)
4 – Stephen Fleming (40 matches)

Will experience prevail, or will a new leader rise to the occasion? Which captain will prove to be the ultimate tactician? Let’s discuss all things captaincy!

 

[Cricket Warrior]

watchout for santner, he is sharp enough to win this throphy.. he has already demonstrated his leadership skills in the Tri Nation series.

 

[light]

Before all the injury news, would have closed my eyes and said Australia. Now, hard to tell.

 

[sweep_shot]

On paper, Smith is the best captain out of those 8 captains.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Santner doing great job so far.

Adding to captaincy watch, extra protection at covers for Babar Azam

 

[FearlessRoar]

Hashmatullah Shahidi's captaincy during the match against South Africa as the Proteas have already crossed 300.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1892916869381619976

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Rohit Sharma

 

[Devadwal]

Rohit Sharma

Rohit is a poor captain and his captaincy was exposed in 1st match.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Santner is doing a good job so far.

 

[pakfan54588]

India is formidable side who ever leads them won't make any difference .Nz and Sa also seems pretty strong .If smith lead this depleted aus side to glory than he should be given credit .Butler team is also struggling so if he can turn around the fortune of his team than him

 

[FearlessRoar]

Former Pakistan cricketer Iqbal Qasim criticized Mohammad Rizwan's captaincy while speaking on a TV show:

"Captaincy is not just about following a formula. You have to read the game situation, decide who should bowl at what stage, and how long they should bowl. Pakistan has given away over 100 runs in the last 10 overs in their last three matches. Today, they conceded 113 runs in the last 10 overs."

"Haris Rauf is getting wickets, but he is also conceding a lot of runs. Maybe he needs to be used differently rather than just at the death overs where he goes all out. Captaincy is about making decisions on the spot, not just sticking to a set formula of giving each bowler three or four overs at a time."

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Extremely poor captaincy by Smith...give last over to a part timer like Labuschagne. Went for 15

 

[FearlessRoar]

A slip and a short cover. Steve Smith is proactively restricting Virat Kohli's strike rotation. This is a proper battle on field