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IND vs BAN ICC Champions Trophy 2025: India will lock horns with Bangladesh in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tournament opener on February 20, Thursday. The match will be held in Dubai. The Men in Blue are entering this match after winning the ODI series by 3-0 against England and are considered one of the favorites to win the title. They have been put in a group that has teams like arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand and will aim to begin their tournament on a high.

The Rohit Sharma-led side have maintained their dominance against the Bangla Tigers in the 50-over format. Both the teams have faced each other in 41 matches, whereas India has won 32 while Bangladesh has won just eight matches and one match ended in no result. The Men in Blue have played six ODIs in Dubai, where they have won five, and one ended in no result. On the other hand, Bangladesh have played three matches, where they have won and lost two matches.

Before the much-awaited clash, let's take a look at the five players to watch out for:

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1. Shubman Gill

Just a few months ago, both the experts and the fans wanted the team management to drop this youngster as he was considered a liability after his woeful performance with the bat during the five-match Test series against Australia. But he bounced back brilliantly during the three-match ODI series against England and proved his naysayers wrong. He did score more than 50 runs in all three matches and also scored a match-winning hundred in the last ODI. His performance was praised by all and he thus sealed his position in the Indian ODI team.

2. Shreyas Iyer

There was another Indian batter who impressed everyone with his consistent performances and thus sealed his position in team India's playing XI. It's none other than Shreyas Iyer, who has been in sublime form in this format as was seen during the domestic tournaments which he played last year and his match-winning knocks during all three matches. He scored a brilliant knock of 59 off 36 balls during the series opener against England, where he took the English bowlers to the cleaners by smashing them for nine fours and two sixes. His brilliant performances helped him get selected for team India's Champions Trophy squad.

3. Axar Patel

What surprised everyone was the fact that star all-rounder Axar Patel was promoted to bat at no.5 position and that confused everyone as to why he was sent before KL Rahul. But he proved his critics wrong as he batted aggressively during the ODI series against England, especially during the first two matches, where he went all-guns-blazing against the English bowlers. But apart from his brilliant strokeplay, he showed his grit and resilience, and that proved the decision right of sending him before KL Rahul.

4. Nazmul Hossain Shanto

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto will also be one of the players to watch out for during the India vs Bangladesh ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash. Since the last year, he has performed consistently in this format and is expected to play a huge role in the match against India. At the same time, he also has given the bowlers of all other opposition a hard time ahead of this mega-event.

5. Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Ahead of the clash against India, Bangladesh's star all-rounder Mehidy Masan Miraz is expected to play a huge role. He has a brilliant record against the Rohit Sharma-led side and was quite impressive in their 2022 ODI series win against them. He will help his team script history and create an upset against the Men in Blue.

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