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The 9th edition of the Champions Trophy will be organized in Pakistan and Dubai. In all the eight previous editions, batsmen of Asian origin and left-handed batsmen have dominated. Among the top 5 batsmen, except Chris Gayle, all are of Asian origin and…read more
After Sourav-Shikhar, who among Yashasvi-Pant will become the champion batsman of Champions Trophy?
New DelhiAt some places the teams are being announced for the ICC’s second biggest tournament Champions Trophy and at some places the teams are practicing vigorously. To win this prestigious tournament starting from February, the teams are leaving no stone unturned in adopting the same rules and regulations. Don’t want to leave. At the same time, some teams are studying the history of this tournament and trying to understand in which direction the trend of this tournament is pointing.
If you look at the history of Champions Trophy, you will see a different trend. The first Champions Trophy was played in Bangladesh in 1998. India won this tournament in 2002 and 2013 and both times the masters of the opposite hand dominated in winning the trophy. Anyway, if we look at all 8 editions, among the top 5 run-scoring batsmen, 4 are left-handed batsmen.
Dominance of backhanded masters
Left-handed batsmen have dominated the Champions Trophy tournament from 1998 to 2017. Especially the dominance of the batsmen in the top four has been seen. In the first edition, be it the flat pitches of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or the seaming friendly pitches of England, South Africa, the opposite-handed batsmen dominated all of them. Till now, the name of West Indies left-handed opener Chris Gayle comes in scoring the most runs in the Champions Trophy. Chris Gayle scored 791 runs in 17 innings. The dominance of Asian batsmen started after the ball. Sri Lankan Mahila Jayawardene scored 741 runs in 21 innings. Shikhar Dhawan has the most brilliant record among the masters of reverse hands. Dhawan exploded in the Champions Trophy and scored 701 runs in 10 innings. Kumar Sangakkara scored 683 runs in 21 innings and Sourav Ganguly scored 665 runs in 11 innings. This record still remains intact. Another interesting incident related to this issue is when the last Champions Trophy was played in 2017 and Pakistan opened the account of victory in the ICC tournament, then in that too the batsman who played the match-winning innings was also left-handed. Then Fakhar Zaman had scored 114 runs for Pakistan.
Who will become the master of masters in 2025?
This time in the Champions Trophy too, everyone’s eyes will be on some explosive left-handed batsmen. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant will have a chance to take the trend of this tournament forward. New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, who made a splash in the 2023 World Cup, can also make a splash in this Champions Trophy. Australia’s trump card Travis Head can prove to be a big threat for all teams. South Africa will also be expecting some big performance from its explosive batsman David Miller. Overall, one thing is clear that this time too in the Champions Trophy, which is being held after 8 years, don’t be surprised if a master with the wrong hand steals the show.
New Delhi,Delhi
January 15, 2025, 5:09 PM IST
The Champions Trophy has been dominated by the masters of the opposite hand.