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Legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has picked last edition finalists, India and Pakistan favourites for the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
The fever of the Champions Trophy is slowly gripping fans as the tournament will return on February 19 after more than seven years. The top eight ODI sides will compete for the coveted trophy, including India, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and defending champions Pakistan. As fans and former cricketers predict the top contenders for the marquee event, Muralitharan has rooted for India and Pakistan as favourites for the tournament. "See, there are favourites, but you can't be assured that this team will win. India and Pakistan will be favourites. Pakistan because of home conditions, and India is also a top team in these conditions," Muralitharan told ANI. After suffering a 2-0 bilateral ODI series loss in Sri Lanka last year, India returned to winning ways in 50-over cricket with back-to-back dominant wins against England on home turf. On the other hand, Pakistan have been flying high in ODIs after orchestrating ODI series win in Zimbabwe, Australia and South Africa. However, their recent results on home turf is a completely different story. Pakistan convincingly lost the ODI tri-nation opening clash against New Zealand by 78 runs last week in Lahore. They will look to rediscover their form in the upcoming match against South Africa on Wednesday. The Champions Trophy will be held across Pakistan and Dubai on surfaces known for their placid nature. Muralitharan expects the pitches to offer something for spinners, allowing them to thrive in the competition. "Rashid (Khan) is good, and there is (Ravindra) Jadeja. You have a lot of spinners coming through in world cricket, so they will do really well in this tournament because I think the wickets will help the spinners," he added. While there are many aspects that will catch the attention of spectators, India stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's performances in the tournament will be one of the talking points. Virat is going through an elongated patch of dry spell, while Rohit on Sunday ended his run drought with a blistering century in Cuttack on Sunday in the second ODI against England. Muralitharan believes the modern-day greats will return to form and said, "I always say form is temporary and class is permanent. They are great players, and they will come to form." The 2024-25 season of Tests was miserable for 'Ro-Ko' (Rohit and Virat Kohli). While Rohit scored just 164 runs in eight matches and 15 innings at an average of 10.93 with best score of 52, Virat scored mere 382 runs in 10 matches and 19 innings at an average of 22.87, with just a century and fifty each. Virat ended the last year with just 655 international runs in 23 matches and 32 innings, averaging 21.83, with a century and two fifties to his name. His best score was 100*. (ANI)
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