Top contenders for ICC Champions Trophy 2017

[ftbno1]

1. England : The team has all basis covered and has right balance with all rounders like moeen ali and stokes.Only problem is batting is prone to collapse because of large number of one dimensional batsmen
Match winners: Morgan,Stoke& Butler(no root)

2. Australia: Great fast bowling unit. Problem is lack of experience in batting and no quality spinner
Match winners: Stephen smith,Starc,Hazelwood,Maxwell

3. India: Has traditionally done well in ICC tournaments and has a wonderful side.Easily the best bolwling unit in ODIs india has ever had.
Match winnerss: Kohli,Rohit,MSD,Yuvi,Ashwin

4.New Zealand: Very balanced squad with most basis covered.
Match winners:Kane williamson,corey,ross taylor,boult,Guptill

5.South Africa: Cricketing powerhouse but this team has chocked many times when odds on their winning were better.
Match winner:s: ABD,Decock,Faf,Rabada

6.Pakistan: Unknown entity which will be affected by omission of sharjeel at the top.Can surprise us by going all the way or by faltering at first hurdle.
Match winners:Mohd. Amir,Babar azam,Sarfaraz

7.Bangladesh: Has risen leaps and bound in last few years with sone really exciting cricketers. Will be fun to watch.
Match winners: mustifizur,Sakib,Musfiqur rahim,mehedi hassan

8Sri lanka: Probably weakest team of the country in years.Will be surprised if the go through first round.
Match winners:Angelo Mattews,Malinga

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

Aus,end,bd

 

[ftbno1]

Aus,end,bd

BD are good.But not their yet.

 

[Inzi_fan_No_1]

Pakistan are no longer an unknown entity. They are just a poor one day side who will get beat.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

BD are good.But not their yet.

Who knows

 

[captain crook]

England are the hot favorites. Have a dynamic and explosive unit. Australia is next. Great team as always. I'd be surprised if either of them don't win the tournament.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

England don't have the bowlers to compete at the Champions Trophy. Australia look the best team. They have the best pace attack and have Warner/Smith/Handscomb etc SAF look decent too. India/PAK/NZ/ENG are about same as far as I'm concerned. WI and SL need not bother turning up

 

[ftbno1]

England are the hot favorites. Have a dynamic and explosive unit. Australia is next. Great team as always. I'd be surprised if either of them don't win the tournament.

The only problem with these teams are ability to play quality spin and tendency to collapse in a heap.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

england don't have the bowlers to compete at the champions trophy. Australia look the best team. They have the best pace attack and have warner/smith/handscomb etc saf look decent too. India/pak/nz/eng are about same as far as i'm concerned. Wi and sl need not bother turning up

wi????!!!!

 

[ftbno1]

Aus,end,bd

England are the hot favorites. Have a dynamic and explosive unit. Australia is next. Great team as always. I'd be surprised if either of them don't win the tournament.

England don't have the bowlers to compete at the Champions Trophy. Australia look the best team. They have the best pace attack and have Warner/Smith/Handscomb etc SAF look decent too. India/PAK/NZ/ENG are about same as far as I'm concerned. WI and SL need not bother turning up

I believe west indies is not turning up.

 

[phoenix363]

England are the hot favorites. Have a dynamic and explosive unit. Australia is next. Great team as always. I'd be surprised if either of them don't win the tournament.

Disagree. I think England are extremely overrated, though do have an advantage due to this being at home.

Australia is the stand out team, especially with Smith in charge. Can't see another team beating them except maybe South Africa, who despite the choking tag, have more chance of winning.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

wi????!!!!

Damn. I meant BD

 

[Syed1]

Pakistan would have been on the second tier of contender-ship had Sharjeel been there. The first tier is England, Australia and India. The second tier at the moment is NZ and SA. While PAK, BD and SL are there to make up the numbers.

 

[MMHS]

I would like to see BD-SAF final this year. Probably, BD will be replaced by AUS though, ENG at home are a fantastic side, but AUS in ICC events are totally a different beast.

IND-PAK should be a close encounter, but I think IND has the edge, after looking at the team PCB selected. I didn't like Indian team either, but still it's built with ODI players, albeit a bit over aged & few players out of form - they haven't picked squire pegs for round holes.

I'll be more than happy with BD winning one match - that should take us to 6th in ranking.

 

[Bhaijaan]

#1. Australia
Definitely odds on favorites. They're world class in all facets of the game and their fast bowlers definitely are at another level compared to most other nations which in England is a massive advantage. Under Steve Smith's leadership, who is himself going through a great form, Australia will be one confident and dangerous side going into the tournament.

#2. India
India in cricket tournaments have been like Germany in Football. Regardless of form, they tend to pick their game up when the show begins. With all the experience they carry, i expect them to be their usualselves.

#3. England
Based on form, team balance they're probably right up there but they aren't a champion side yet due to lack of experience at winning trophies which is why i keep the odds low for them. When it comes to knock outs, India/Australia and even our good friends Pakistan are different beasts.

 

[Rana]

I agree with OP, you cant predict Pakistan. If they have one of their days were the bowlers just click as a unit and bowl a top team out for less than a par score they can pretty much turn over anyone.

However, no expectations from their batting to have a field day and score 370+ against a good unit

 

[Umairee95]

I don't think Pakistan stand a chance in this year's Champions Trophy. It is probably the most inexperienced, weakest Pakistan team ever to participate in any major ICC event. But you can never write off Pakistan completely.

 

[TahirFan]

On paper the Proteas should win.They have the most balanced side with the best players

The Proteas have choked so many times and their subconscious mind believe that they are chokers and will choke again

They have to reprogram their subconscious mind and start to believe that they are the champions

Starting from today I will recommend that all their players listen to the music of Queen "We are the champions"

They have to listen to the that song 3 times a day. At dawn when they wake up, again at noon and finally before they go to bed

 

[Mamoon]

England/Australia
Australia/England
India
New Zealand
Pakistan
Sri Lanka/Bangladesh
Bangladesh/Sri Lanka
South Africa

 

[KhalidRafi]

1. England
2. India
3. Australia
4. South Africa
5. New Zealand
6. Pakistan
7. Bangladesh
8. Sri Lanka

The optimism of the Bangladeshi fans really surprises me. You guys should be optimistic about your chances, but it doesn't seem like your team will get anything less than a thrashing in all 3 matches.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

we replaced sharjeel with shehzad. why are we even going to the champions trophy? is there any chance where we can get a sick leave and stay home and someone else can compete in place of us?

 

[troodon]

England and Aus are the best teams followed by NZ/Ind/SA.

Pak/WI/BD/SL are the least favorites.

 

[Syed1]

England and Aus are the best teams followed by NZ/Ind/SA.

Pak/WI/BD/SL are the least favorites.

Considering how WI aren't even in the tournament it is a splendid achievement on their part to atleast make the favourites list

 

[TalhaSyed]

England
India
Australia

England have come on leaps and bounds in limited over cricket in the last couple of years and with the home advantage they will be the front runners in my opinion

India - the defending Champions - have also seemed to figure out the formula to win ICC events in the last decade, so I would also count them as a contender

Australia's ODI team is very well suited for limited over internationals in English conditions so if England and India mess it up, I would get it's Australias cup

But of course we all know that the above is just on paper. On the field Pakistan will win the competition under Sarfraz's captaincy InshAllah!

 

[troodon]

Considering how WI aren't even in the tournament it is a splendid achievement on their part to atleast make the favourites list

Alright.

No one cares about their ODI team anyways.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

Damn. I meant BD

What if bd plays semi?

 

[dauntless]

S.Africa will win this time! They won't choke this time around! Most probably pak will lose all matches! Looking forward to see m.amir b.azam and umar akmal!

 

[Hasan123]

Australia
South Africa /England
India

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Australia/England
SouthAfrica/India/Pak

India vs pak is a huge opening match in that group whoever wins will go to the semis...

 

[Hawkeye]

I know BD is on the rise, but they aren't going to do much in this tournament.

Let's get real.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Watch out for Taskin...he may be a touch expensive, but he has the knack of making the big breakthrough. Solid numbers to start his ODI career.

Bangladesh's fast bowling attack of Mustafiz-Taskin-Rubel-Mashrafee might be vying for the 2nd best ODI seam attack in the world behind Australia's!

 

[Ami]

Bangladesh will get to semis..
Pak will beat S Lanka probably and lose all else...

 

[Hamza_]

Bangladesh to win the trophy.

 

[dildildalwalla]

I disagree England's weakness is their batting. They have a variety of batsmen, big hitters like Stokes and Buttler, accumulators such as Root and mOragn (Can also hit the ball far) and quite but effective batsmen such as Rashid and Ali. The biggest issue will be their bowlin, if anything is lacking variety, it's their pace bowlers. All of them do the same thing.

As for all the optimism for Bnag, be serious guys. Eng and Aus are winning that group, possibly NZ. Bnag will have one win...maybe.

Also, I would not label modern day MS and YUvi as match winners.

With regards to Pakistan, they have an ok side and expect them to do ok. Maybe win 2, and lose 2.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Honestly, for Bangladesh to even win 1 game would be a considerable success:

They haven't toured England since 2010. On top of that, ENG, AUS, NZ are all world class sides.

Just lik the 2015 World Cup all the odds are stacked against BD.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

CT cup is ours. What about this?

 

[younus_malik]

Pak Vs SL match will decide who is the weakest CT team of 2017

 

[idrizzy]

Australia are the strongest - they're the strongest mentally and their bowling is no joke. Warner, Smith, yeah no joke.
England could crumble, but they're 2nd.
SA
NZ
Ind
Pak
SL
Ban

 

[Square Drive]

Pakistan quite easily.

There are a couple of other contenders but is there really any use mentioning them when they are only bound to finish runners-up?

 

[Hasan123]

Pakistan quite easily.

There are a couple of other contenders but is there really any use mentioning them when they are only bound to finish runners-up?

Lol too much optimism

 

[Donal Cozzie]

Gonna go out there and predict BD making the knock outs.

Batting line up experienced in English conditions, beat Australia and England in ODIs in England when they were properly terrible, arrived in England a week ago and are getting the best preparation of any team in the competition. Good pacers like Mustafiz who'll enjoy early over spells before the pitch flattens out, decent spinners who can keep the RR down in middle overs. Plus absolutely zero pressure in any games, nobody expects them to do well. Opening game vs England will be a cracker, and I for one can see Bangladesh pulling off a win....

 

[Hawkeye]

Gonna go out there and predict BD making the knock outs.

Batting line up experienced in English conditions, beat Australia and England in ODIs in England when they were properly terrible, arrived in England a week ago and are getting the best preparation of any team in the competition. Good pacers like Mustafiz who'll enjoy early over spells before the pitch flattens out, decent spinners who can keep the RR down in middle overs. Plus absolutely zero pressure in any games, nobody expects them to do well. Opening game vs England will be a cracker, and I for one can see Bangladesh pulling off a win....

Nope.

BD won't be able to handle CT, they're going to be the weakest team, similar to WC 2015 show. SL might compete with them though.

 

[KhalidRafi]

Gonna go out there and predict BD making the knock outs.

Batting line up experienced in English conditions, beat Australia and England in ODIs in England when they were properly terrible, arrived in England a week ago and are getting the best preparation of any team in the competition. Good pacers like Mustafiz who'll enjoy early over spells before the pitch flattens out, decent spinners who can keep the RR down in middle overs. Plus absolutely zero pressure in any games, nobody expects them to do well. Opening game vs England will be a cracker, and I for one can see Bangladesh pulling off a win....

Bangladesh is most definitely getting a hiding Australia and England, New Zealand should beat them comprehensively too. Players like Stokes and Lynn will relish at the opportunity to face bowlers like Mortaza and Taskin and smash them all around the park.

 

[KingKhanWC]

England will win it.

Pakistan will beat India.

Bangladesh won't win a game.

 

[Couch Cricketer]

I think Eng, Aus, SA, Ind and Nz all are capable of winning. Pak, Ban and SL might win a match here and their but I don't see them going all the way. If swing is available and we have cloudy conditions in Eng then I think SA or NZ might even edge the other 3 as I feel the rest are prone to faltering when swing is available.

 

[aloo paratha]

Eng will win
SA
Aus
NZ
Ind
Pak
BD
SL

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

Hope Pakistan but i think wil be Australia.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

I could see Pakistan losing every match.

 

[Speedster777]

Australia and Pakistan

 

[SL_Fan]

Eng
Oz
Ind
SA
NZ

All in with a chance. Should be good.

 

[Pak_lover6]

South Africa.
Hopefully Pakistan wins one or two matches for the ranking points.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Pakistan
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Other teams

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Pakistan will win all group matches, and then will defeat Australia in semifinal and England in Final.

 

[Ellipsism]

Pakistan will win all group matches, and then will defeat Australia in semifinal and England in Final.

And pigs will fly.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Australia are the strongest - they're the strongest mentally and their bowling is no joke. Warner, Smith, yeah no joke.
England could crumble, but they're 2nd.
SA
NZ
Ind
Pak
SL
Ban

How is SL ahead of BD? BD has better batsmen, better seamers, better spinners, and better fielders. Even putting PAK ahead of BD is a stretch.

 

[Zeshan547]

Pakistan will win all group matches, and then will defeat Australia in semifinal and England in Final.

Aur phr aankh khul gae,,,

 

[silent ischemia]

Pakistan are no longer an unknown entity. They are just a poor one day side who will get beat.

Cant agree with you more. In modern day limited over cricket Pakistan is still way behind the elite i.e Aus, Ind, Eng and SA. We need three Sharjeels in our batting line up to compete with the elite but we have none

 

[BD-fan]

England
New Zealand
Australia
SA
India
The rest doesn't matter.

Since SL - Pak plays a game among each other, one is to win a game (unless washout). BD would be in cloud 9 if they win one game.

 

[silent ischemia]

England/Australia
Australia/England
India
New Zealand
Pakistan
Sri Lanka/Bangladesh
Bangladesh/Sri Lanka
South Africa

What if Amla was not selected; South Africa would have better odds .... in your opinion

 

[silent ischemia]

Australia
England
India
NZ

 

[idrizzy]

How is SL ahead of BD? BD has better batsmen, better seamers, better spinners, and better fielders. Even putting PAK ahead of BD is a stretch.

Tbh I just put the SL/Ban in any order, makes no difference since they'll both be out at group stages lol but yes, if you want to be meticulous then BD is ahead of SL

 

[Mamoon]

What if Amla was not selected; South Africa would have better odds .... in your opinion

Certainly, but this current lot of South African players don't have the mettle with or without him.

 

[amvbfm]

Given the format of the tournament, it's rather difficult to predict the semi finalists but beyond that there are only three real contenders imo: Aus, Eng and Ind with NZ in with a chance if they make it to the semis. Pak and SA don't have the consistency to win at least 3, more likely 4 out of 5 matches to win the trophy. SL and BD don't stand much chance.

Listed in order of contention (imo)
1) Australia: Very talented more importantly mentally strong enough to win 5 on the trot
Strength: explosive top order and strong seam bowling unit
Weakness: can collapse if top 3 go early, weak 5th bowling option unless they go for 5 bowlers
Prediction: will surely get to semis, if they win semi then they will win the whole thing

2) England: perhaps the most balanced side in the competition
Strength: everything about them looks good
Weakness: do they have the self belief and consistency to go the whole way?
Prediction: should make it to semis

3) India: most experienced team of the tournament
Strength: experienced star studded batting line-up
Weakness: middle order looks highly iffy
Prediction: Final

4) NZ: have a higher chance of winning the whole thing if they get to semis, hence placing them above SA and Pak despite their chances of getting to the semis being higher than NZ
Strength: best opening seam bowling combo and good top order
Weakness: weak lower middle order
Prediction: can go through to finals if they qualify for semis but seems unlikely

5) Pakistan: not the best Pakistani team ever but still has the potential to upset
Strength: not many, only chance will be if they can strike with the new ball and hold their catches
Weakness: too many, useless top order, profligate seam attack, atrocious fielding
Prediction: upset SA to get to semis

6) South Africa: not the most balanced squad imo
Strength: very strong top order
Weakness: weak bowling, too many allrounders and not enough specialist seamers
Prediction: start off well but crash out before semis or in semis

7) Sri Lanka: A young team, doesn't have much chance but might cause an upset or two
Strength: having Pak and SA in the same group
Weakness: inexperienced batting lineup, pace attack not very penetrative
Prediction: upset either Pak or SA

8) Bangladesh: don't expect much from them, esp being in the tougher of the two groups
Strength: experienced batting
Weakness: weak bowling
Prediction: end last in their group

 

[silent ischemia]

Certainly, but this current lot of South African players don't have the mettle with or without him.

But even worse with him

 

[Mamoon]

But even worse with him

Yes. The longer Amla bats, the better it is for the opposition. Pakistan's best bet against SA is to bat first, score 300 somehow, and hope that Amla bats for around 30 overs. Scoring 300 against their pace attack will be nothing short of a miracle, but SA is unrivaled when it comes to self-destructing, so we can actually roll them out for a low score in spite of having a mediocre bowling attack.

 

[Hamza_]

West Indies had a better chance of winning against NZ, England or Australia.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

I would have surely given Pakistan a chance if we had Sharjeel and Haris.

 

[msb314]

Pakistan
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Other teams

Pakistan will win all group matches, and then will defeat Australia in semifinal and England in Final.

Well we did beat someone in the semifinals and finals!

 

[msb314]

Aur phr aankh khul gae,,,

Haan aank khul gae



And we are the CHAMPIONS!!

 

[msb314]

Pak Vs SL match will decide who is the weakest CT team of 2017

hahahaha I guess it did...

 

[Khwaja]

Pakistan

 

[Square Drive]

Pakistan quite easily.

There are a couple of other contenders but is there really any use mentioning them when they are only bound to finish runners-up?

Lol too much optimism

Why the heck am I always right? [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=3474]TalhaSyed[/MENTION] [MENTION=47617]Red Devil[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=137148]Rayyman[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

Told you so

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Why the heck am I always right? [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=3474]TalhaSyed[/MENTION] [MENTION=47617]Red Devil[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=137148]Rayyman[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

Told you so

I should keep saying Pak will win every series & tournament. In next 5 yesrs I will be proven right many times. Probability man.

Btw SD well done yaar. You rock.

 

[Hasan123]

Why the heck am I always right? [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=3474]TalhaSyed[/MENTION] [MENTION=47617]Red Devil[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=137148]Rayyman[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

Told you so

Well done

 

[TalhaSyed]

Why the heck am I always right? [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=3474]TalhaSyed[/MENTION] [MENTION=47617]Red Devil[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=137148]Rayyman[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

Told you so

It's a burden that comes with being part of the spirit squad bro

England
India
Australia

England have come on leaps and bounds in limited over cricket in the last couple of years and with the home advantage they will be the front runners in my opinion

India - the defending Champions - have also seemed to figure out the formula to win ICC events in the last decade, so I would also count them as a contender

Australia's ODI team is very well suited for limited over internationals in English conditions so if England and India mess it up, I would get it's Australias cup

But of course we all know that the above is just on paper. On the field Pakistan will win the competition under Sarfraz's captaincy InshAllah!