AUS vs AFG: Australia's Playing XI for ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Match Against Afghanistan

The craze for the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy has returned after 8 years, featuring the top 8 teams. Teams are divided into two groups. The matches will be played in Pakistan and UAE. Australia is in Group B along with South Africa, Afghanistan, and England.

Australia’s hopes of winning their third ICC Champions Trophy took a major hit as several key players either got injured or pulled out. Now, Australia is led by Steve Smith in the seventh ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match. The regular Australian skipper Pat Cummins and the star all-rounder Marcus Stoinis were retired from ODIs before the Champions Trophy.

The star pacers Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Mitchell Marsh have all been ruled out of the tournament, but in the fourth match, Australia sealed a record-breaking five-wicket win over England, chasing 352. And the match against South Africa was abandoned. Here is the best predicted playing 11 of Australia.

Australia’s Predicted Playing XI

Travis Head & Matthew Short (Openers)

The 31-year-old Travis Head is one of the most dangerous batters in the world. He has scored 2669 runs in just 71 ODIs with an average of 43, with six centuries and 16 half-centuries. His aggressive batting style makes him a promising opener for Australia. The head’s ability to counterattack will be crucial on batting-friendly pitches. But in their first match against England, Head scored only 6 runs. The star right-handed batter Matthew Short played an important knock 63 off 66 balls. He is making a mark in international cricket with his all-rounder performance. He has scored 260 runs in 14 ODIs, with two half-centuries. As an aggressive top-order batter, he takes advantage of powerplay overs to give Australia fast starts. 

Steve Smith & Marnus Labuschagne (Top Order) 

The star batter Steve Smith did not make much impact in the first as he just scored only 5 runs. But his presence in the squad brings experience and leadership as Australia’s captain. He has scored 5708 runs in 168 ODIs with an amazing average of 42, with 12 centuries and 34 half-centuries. Smith's calm and composure manner under pressure can anchor the innings.

The 30-year-old star right-handed batter Labuschagne provides stability to the middle order with his solid batting skills. He scored 47 runs in just 45 balls and played an anchor role after losing two early wickets. In his ODI career, he scored 1840 runs in 61 ODIs, including two centuries and 12 half-centuries. He has the ability to play the long innings and can build strong partnerships.

Josh Inglis, Alex Carey & Glenn Maxwell (Middle Order)

The young and talented all-rounder Josh Inglis played a match-winning knock by scoring an unbeaten 120 runs in just 86 balls with an impressive strike rate of 139. In his ODI career, he has scored 663 runs in just 28 ODIs, including a century and three half-centuries. His aggressive batting style can either finish games or accelerate in the middle overs. The former ODI captain Alex Carey is an experienced wicketkeeper-batter. He has also scored 69 runs against England in the first match. He has scored 2088 runs in 78 ODIs, including one century and 11 half-centuries. He’s skilled at guiding the lower order and rotating strike effectively. 

The well-known star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is Australia’s game-changer who played a cameo role by scoring 32 runs in just 15 balls with an impressive strike rate of 213. He has played 147 ODIs and scored 3983 runs with an excellent strike rate of over 120, with four centuries and 23 half-centuries. With his off-spin bowling, he took 76 wickets and can trouble the batters in the middle overs.

Ben Dwarshuis & Aaron Hardie (All-rounders): 

The 26-year-old raising star Aaron Hardie is a right-handed all-rounder. He has played only 13 ODIs for Australia and scored 166 runs. With his medium-fast bowling, he took 10 wickets in ODIs. He will be the key player for Australia in the middle order. 

Ben Dwarshuis has taken three wickets in his 10-over spell against England. He has played only 3 ODIs for Australia and took 5 wickets in ODIs. He will be the key player for Australia in the middle order with his excellent bowling skills.

Sean Abbott & Adam Zampa ( Bowlers)

Sean Abbott is an experienced all-rounder with 28 wickets in 33 ODIs. But he missed the first match against England but he may play the match against South Africa. He can hit the pitch hard, extract bounce, and play useful lower-order knocks. Abbott’s versatility will be important in managing Australia’s bowling options.

Adam Zampa is Australia’s go-to spinner, with 183 wickets in 109 ODIs. He took two wickets against England in the first match. His ability to take wickets and control the middle overs is critical, especially on the slow pitches of the subcontinent. Zampa’s role will be to break partnerships and control the game’s flow.

Australia’s Probable 11 for Champions Trophy 2025

Travis Head, Matthew Short, Steve Smith (c), Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Adam Zampa

Australia’s Full Squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa

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