Rohit Sharma eyes Champions Trophy glory at Wankhede Stadium

India captain Rohit Sharma has expressed his ambition to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and bring the trophy to Mumbai for a grand celebration at Wankhede Stadium.

Speaking during the 50th-anniversary celebrations of Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium on January 19, Rohit Sharma outlined his goal of lifting the Champions Trophy and marking the victory with a fan parade at the stadium.

“We will try our best to win the Champions Trophy,” said Rohit Sharma. “I’m sure that the wishes of 140 crore Indians will be behind us when we land in Dubai. Once we win, we’ll bring the trophy to Wankhede Stadium to celebrate with the fans,” he added.

The tournament will begin next month, with matches scheduled in Pakistan and the UAE. India’s first match will be against Bangladesh on February 20, followed by their high-profile clash with arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23 in Dubai.

Sharma’s comments came during the milestone event at Wankhede Stadium, which also saw the presence of cricket legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravi Shastri. The stadium has hosted numerous iconic moments in India’s cricketing history.

India’s history with the Champions Trophy includes a shared title in 2002 under Sourav Ganguly, outright victory in 2013 under MS Dhoni, and a loss in the final to Pakistan in 2017 under Virat Kohli.

The 2025 tournament will feature eight teams across three venues – Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi in Pakistan, and Dubai in the UAE – runs from February 19 to March 9.

A few days ago, Devajit Saikia, the newly-elected secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), addressed the speculation surrounding Indian men's team captain Rohit Sharma’s visit to Pakistan ahead of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.

Earlier this month, Indian media reports suggested that Rohit Sharma might travel to Pakistan for events related to the tournament, including an all-captains photo shoot and a press conference where skippers will share their expectations for the competition.

However, Saikia confirmed that the BCCI had not received any official proposal for Rohit Sharma's visit and that the matter had not been discussed with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

India's Champions Trophy squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja.

India's Champions Trophy schedule:

• February 20: Bangladesh vs India, Dubai
• February 23: Pakistan vs India, Dubai
• March 2: New Zealand vs India, Dubai