The ICC Champions Trophy is set to make its much-anticipated return after an eight-year hiatus, commencing on February 19, 2025, with matches hosted in Pakistan and the UAE (for India's fixtures). India, known for its remarkable consistency and dominance on the global stage, enters the tournament as one of the strongest contenders, ready to stake its claim in this ultimate test of cricketing excellence. But the recently released Indian squad for the forthcoming tournament has sparked a lot of talk and discussion amongst the game's followers.

Though it had its own set of positives, some aspects could hinder their chances to scalp their second title of the tournament. Keeping in mind the team's recent performances post their triumphant 2024 T20 World Cup has been alarming for their future performances. Here, we look at the three factors that could not lead India to a victorious 2025 Champions Trophy run.

India 15-man squad for Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana (Reserve)

1. Speculated rift and uncertainty within the Indian team

Though the above title sounds generic to the fanatics, it could be a significant reason behind India's faulty campaign in the upcoming Champions Trophy tournament. Be it a vast sporting board or a small-scale company, sound and robust internal management plays a decisive role in the working of a team and, in return, provides the desired results. The same applies to the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), the monitoring board of the Indian Cricket team.

Recent speculations of uncertainty within the board, selectors, captain, coaches and a few influential players due to some forgettable recent performances have led to a lack of unison in the lineup formation due to scattered opinions and requirements. For instance, the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy India squad announcement got delayed by an hour or two as there have been some eleventh-hour discussions regarding the squad, which adds more oil to the fire. Though concrete pointers don't back this aspect, they act as an invisible hand in the team's winning goals and process aspects, which will come under scrutiny in the future, only if the results aren't obtained.