With the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy 2025 looming on the horizon, the problems have continued to pile up for Australia. The side will be going into the tournament on the back of several injuries. It is worth noting that the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Cameron Green will be unavailable for the Aussies ahead of the event.
With a severely depleted lineup, it was announced that Steve Smith will lead Australia in the Champions Trophy 2025, and with the Men in Yellow making contingency plans in hopes of going all the way, former Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist came up with a suggestion.
Gilchrist suggested a change in the batting order for the Aussies in the tournament, opining that Steve Smith should go on to open the innings for the side alongside Travis Head. “It's a challenging one at the moment, but Steve Smith should open. I didn't see where he was slotted in the game against Sri Lanka. Obviously, Travis is going to be there – he's fresh and fit. I also like Matt Short being there – he can form a nice left hand-right hand combination – that would be the preferred way for me to go,” Gilchrist said at the ABC Summer Grandstand show.
It is worth noting that Australia will take on the likes of England, Afghanistan, and South Africa in their Champions Trophy group stage matches, and Gilchrist felt that the limited preparation could prove to be a hindrance for the side in the tournament.
“I guess there's been limited preparation with regards to this format. The Australian team was outstanding in the huge summer—both men's and women's. But a lot of nations will focus on 50-over cricket when it's a World Cup year, certainly in terms of the volume of the games and who's actually playing it,” Gilchrist said.
Australia will kick off their campaign by taking on arch-rivals England. Both sides will lock horns at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on February 22, and it could be interesting to see how a comparatively weaker Australian lineup fares under pressure.