ICC Champions Trophy 2017: The ICC Champions Trophy is one of the most prestigious tournaments in world cricket. This year, the tournament is scheduled to take place in England and all the teams have reached there to start their preparations for the big tournament.
Champions Trophy’s inaugural edition was way back in 1998 when it was called the ICC Knockout Trophy. However, the name was changed in 2002 and since then it is known as ICC Champions Trophy.
The next edition of ICC Champions Trophy will take place in India in 2019. In this post, The Cricket Lounge’s Shivam Behl and Tahan Bajaj list 6 players who are playing their last ICC Champions Trophy.
MS Dhoni (India)
The former Indian captain and one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen MS Dhoni might be making his last ICC Champions Trophy appearance. Dhoni, who led India to victory in the 2013 edition of Champions Trophy in England, is 35 years old and many cricket pundits believe that he does not have a lot of time in his hands. Having said this, Dhoni has a habit of surprising his fans with totally unexpected moves. As cricket fans, we would love to see Dhoni playing for many more years but considering young talents like Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, who are consistently sending messages to selectors with their good performances, it would be difficult for Dhoni to hold his place in the team.
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)
The Sri Lanka speedster is one of the best exponents of reverse swing and yorkers in the history of the game. Malinga terrorised batsmen across the world with this unorthodox action, speed and unbelievable accuracy, in limited-overs cricket. However, in the last couple of years, Malinga has picked some injuries and it has had a direct impact on his bowling. In the recently concluded IPL 2017, Malinga bowled well for Mumbai Indians in few matches but he was nowhere close to his best. The iCC Champions Trophy might be Lasith Malinga’s last.
Imran Tahir (South Africa)
South Africa’s leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who impressed one and all with his outstanding display of bowling in IPL 2017, is known for his brilliant bowling and ‘unstoppable’ celebrations. Tahir, 38, is Proteas’ best spinner at the moment. But, considering his age, he won’t be there for too long. ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will most likely be Tahir’s last.
Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)
Pakistan’s veteran cricketer Mohammad Hafeez, 36, has been a great servant for Pakistan cricket. Hafeez has been an integral part of Pakistan Cricket Team over the last many years and the fans would be hoping that he, with his experience, leads the batting unit in the ICC Champions Trophy. It is true that many Pakistani cricketers have gone on to play at the age of 40 and beyond, but considering Hafeez’s recent form and Pakistan’s emerging pool of young batsmen, this will most likely be Hafeez’s last ICC Champions Trophy as a Pakistani cricketer.
Yuvraj Singh (India)
India’s swashbuckling all-rounder and one of the most sweetest timers of cricket ball, Yuvraj Singh is the only cricketer in this list who appeared in the ICC Knockout Trophy in 2000 and has gone on to play 3 champions trophy tournaments after that. However, he wasn’t included in the squad for IC Champions Trophy 2013. Yuvraj has been in good form in the last few months but considering his age and young emerging talented batsmen in India, ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will most likely be his last.
AB de Villiers (South Africa)
Regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen in cricket history, AB de Villiers will lead South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. De Villiers, 33, has had a couple of injury issues in the recent past and this is one of the biggest reasons why we have included him in this list. It is most likely that AB will hang his boots after the ICC Cricket Word Cup 2019. He has played 217 matches for his country and scored 9220 runs at an average of 54.23. De Villiers has 52 half centuries and 24 centuries to his name.
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