Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad Memorial T20 Tournament 2025

The Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad Memorial T20 Tournament 2025 is set to be an exciting cricket event. The tournament began on February 7, 2025, and will continue until February 23, 2025, with matches 

This event features six competitive teams that will battle it out in a round-robin format, with the top four moving on to the semi-finals, leading to the final match on February 23, 2025.

Venues:Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, Chandigarh.

Teams:

1. Manohar Mavericks (MMK)
2. Wild Woods Warriors (WWW)
3. Talanoa Tigers (TLT)
4. Hiims Hawks (HHK)
5. Punjab Panthers (PJP)
6. City Challengers (CTC)

Complete Squads 

1. Hiims Hawks (HHK)

• Captain: Shivam Bhambri
• Squad: Abhimanyu Kumar, Jagjit Singh, Mohit Soni, Nehal Pajni, Ajai Jain, Armaan Jakhar, Gaurav Gambhir, Nikhil Sharma, Ripudaman Godhan, Nikhil Thakur (Wk), Ritik Sandhu (Wk), Gurtaj Bains, Mandeep Singh, Prince Upadhyay, Rahul K Singh, Vivek Vashisht

2. Talanoa Tigers (TLT)

• Captain: To be confirmed
• Squad: A Azad, D Kaushik, D Kush, K Sandil, H Chowdhry, M Panchal, E Bawa, E Bhandari, S Arya, V Kashyap, A Rana, P Ahlawat, A Saini, K Singh, S Singh, T Singh

3. Manohar Mavericks (MMK)

• Captain: To be confirmed
• Squad: A Garg, A Singh, A Sharma, G Puri, D Thamman, L Siani, N Pandita, S Aaharan, A Singh, A Raghuvanshi, D Sharma, A Kumar, B Lather, Ishan, S Sharma, Y Singh

4. Wild Woods Warriors (WWW)

• Captain: To be confirmed
• Squad: K Mahajan, S Kumar, T Latka, A Sudan, C Singh, G Singh, N Shaliwal, P Kumar, R Yadav, A Bhandari, M Dahiya, T Joshi, A Sharma, N Sharda, R Bishnoi, R Pal Singh, T Rai

5. Punjab Panthers (PJP)

• Captain: Manan Vohra
• Squad: A Sikka, A Kumar, A Kaushik, A Banshal, M Vohra, N Birla, T Singh Saraon, A Kadian, J Beniwal, V Kumar, G Verma, P Yadav, C Sharma, H Singh, J Singh, J Mehra, R Dhanda

6. City Challengers (CTC)

• Captain: Arslan Khan
• Squad: A Khan, A Duggal, H Singh, S Saini, S Singh, A Lubana, A Singh, I Ranauta, K Singh, N Kumar, E Singh Salaria, M Sidhu, A Kanwar, A Singh Gill, G Singh, H Kapoor, S Punia

ALSO READ:India's Predicted Playing XI for 2nd ODI Against England.

 Schedule:

Live Streaming:

• India: FanCode App & Website
• International: YouTube Official Channel
• Regional: Check local sports networks for availability

Gambhir's Confident Approach Towards High-Scoring T20 Matches
T20 Cricket National Team head coach Gautam Gambhir made very clear what's in store regarding the approach adopted by the country's team concerning T20. He wishes them to aim towards big scores invariably, as most of the T20 matches to be achieved often at around the score of 250-260 runs. Indeed, it can be very inspiring, but as Gambhir would say, success in T20 cricket requires so.

High-Risk Cricket for Big Rewards
As Gambhir says, this is just the kind of team that will have to give up some low scores in order to achieve such high scores. He understands the point that sometimes it even came down to such low scores to get out for 120 or 130 runs. But this, he said is a natural part of playing aggressive, high-risk cricket. According to Gambhir, unless players take these risks, they won't be able to achieve the big rewards that are being brought through hitting big totals.
This high-risk approach is what characterizes T20 cricket, and Gambhir makes it very clear that it's the only thing that would get the team where it wants to be. Of course, this means that in some games the team would fold over in two overs, but that is just the price paid for looking to score big on other days.

Gambhir said "We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly - in trying to do that, there will be games where we will get bundled out for 120-130 and that is what T20 cricket is all about - unless and until you don't play that high-risk cricket, you won't get those big rewards as… pic.twitter.com/q8MTA0gZGt

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 3, 2025

ALSO READ:Not Abhishek Sharma these Players Smashed the fastest centuries in T20I

Fearlessness: A Key Element
The most important philosophy of Gambhir is fearlessness. He tells the team to play without any fear of failure. This fearless attitude was seen during India's recent series against England, where they won 4 out of 5 T20 matches. In these games, even when wickets fell early, the team continued to play aggressively, refusing to hold back.
Gambhir further believes that this kind of fearlessness is really important, especially in such high-pressure tournaments. He opines that the team should concentrate on playing its natural game, worrying nothing about losing. The words of his mouth reveal his confidence in his team: "We don't want to fear losing anything," he said, thereby reinforcing his opinion that the team should continue playing the same bold, fearless way.

Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) is ready to host the last game of the five-match T20I series between India and England. 

Hosts India have already secured the series as they are leading by 3-1 before the last game of the five-match T20I series. 

Hosts India started the series with two back-to-back wins. After India claimed a seven-wicket dominant win at Kolkata in the T20I series opener, the second game was very close at Chennai, where India clinched a two-wicket win in the last over of the match.

Visitors England made a good comeback in the series after winning the Rajkot T20I by 26 runs. Pune hosted the fourth match of the series last Friday, where India defended 181 runs and won by 15 runs. 

It will be the ninth T20I match at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai). England have played two T20Is at this venue and won both matches. After beating India by six wickets in December 2012, which was also its first T20I, England beat South Africa by two wickets during the ICC World T20 2016.

On the other hand, after losing against England in the T20I debut at this venue, India lost against West Indies during the Semi-final of the ICC World T20 2016 (by seven wickets). However, India won all their last three T20Is at this venue, twice against Sri Lanka and once against West Indies. 

India vs England 5th T20I: Probable XIs

India predicted XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh/Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana.

England predicted XI: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (Captain), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood. 

India vs England 5th T20I: Dream11 Top Captains and Vice-Captains

Top 3 Captain's choices: Abhishek Sharma, Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett

Top 3 Vice-Captain's choices: Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Brydon Carse

In an era of aggressive T20 cricket that constantly puts boundaries on tape and speeds up boundaries more often than not you have had one bowler who has stood tall and made an old soul Rashid Khan. Yes, he is more than just a leg-spinner who works magic on the ball and a revolutionary of spin bowling in this format.
A Journey of Hard Work

tales about Rashid Khan are about struggle and self-belief. Born in Afghanistan, if there were cricket brains in Kabul only 50 in number and those countries boasting of limited chance for the game was a struggle not to have an identity. The transformation from local to a T20 global superstar is nothing more than a fluke. The story he tells shows that if you are passionate, hardworking, and dedicated you can turn your dreams into reality.

Top Wicket-Takers in T20 

ALSO READ:12-year-old student in Kanpur: Cricket coach drugged, sexually assaulted

A Record-Breaking Career

Rashid is definitely the best-ever T20 bowler of all time. Holding 631 wickets in 460 matches he is synonymous to the game. I know I am special because it is not all about the number of wickets but how he gets them. His economy rate of 6.49 says it all, he is accurate as hell with the ball and that is very hard to find in a format where runs come at break neck speed.

With a bowling average of 18.08, Rashid is not simply another bowler who play in the way of runs, he has proven himself not only as a reliable 'ferocious' wicket source but also a partner breaker and match transformer in Test Cricket. Optimum getting the beat, deceptive googly and outthink batsmen make him one of the most dangerous spinners worldwide.

RASHID KHAN COMPLETED 600 WICKETS IN T20...!!! 🤯

- He is just 25 years old. pic.twitter.com/FYJgZOGm8I

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 30, 2024

Fearless India secured the home T20I series before the last game of the T20I series, as they beat England in the Pune T20I on Friday night and have taken a 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

After England captain Jos Buttler chose to field first at Pune, India scored 181/9 in 20 overs. In reply, England were all out for 166 runs in 19.4 overs, as India won the match by 15 runs.

Saqib Mahmood brought early blows

England got a great start as Saqib Mahmood was playing his first game and took three wickets in his first over as India were down to 12/3. After scoring 12 runs in the first over of Jofra Archer, Sanju Samson (1) and Tilak Varma (0) were dismissed in the first two deliveries of the second over of the innings, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0) lost his wicket on the last ball of the over as Mahmood finished the over with a maiden and three wickets. 

In the tough moment, opener Abhishek Sharma and middle-order batter Rinku Singh handled the situation strongly. However, both lost their wickets at crucial moments, as Sharma scored 29 and Singh scored 30 runs. 

While India were struggling at 79/5, Shivam Dube made a great comeback in the T20I side and Hardik Pandya set up a strong partnership. They had an 87-run partnership for the sixth wicket, the largest ever T20I partnership for the fifth or lower wickets against England. 

See Also: Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya set a record-breaking T20I partnership against England

Hardik and Dube scored 50s

After a cautious start, Hardik completed his fifty in 27 balls. The right-handed batter scored 53 off 30 balls with the help of four fours and four sixes before Jamie Overton dismissed him. Meanwhile, Dube took 31 balls to complete his half-century. Before he was run out on the final ball of the innings, the left-handed batter scored 53 off 35 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. While Dube got a hit on his helmet in the final over of the innings, India used a concussion substitute as Harshit Rana replaced the all-rounder, which has triggered a new controversy. It was Rana's T20I debut, which happened in a dramatic way.

Among the English bowlers, Saqib Mahmood took three wickets (3/35) and Jamie Overton bagged two wickets (2/32).

England were 62/1

In chasing, England got a great start as Phil Salt and Ben Duckett dominated the Indian bowlers. Indian bowlers seemed clueless to restrict Duckett, but on the final ball of the powerplay, Ravi Bishnoi dismissed the left-handed batter for 39 off 19 balls (seven fours and one six), as England scored 62/1. 

Opener Salt (23) and captain Jos Buttler (2) were dismissed quickly as Axar Patel and Bishnoi took the wickets, respectively, and the visitors were battling at 67/3.

Harry Brook's 50 went in vain

England were losing the wickets at regular intervals, while Harry Brook finally found his form despite not getting enough support from the other end. 

Firing Brook (51 off 26 balls; five fours and two sixes) completed his half-century in 25 balls but he threw his wicket on the next ball as Varun Chakravarthy once again won the battle against him.

In the last moment, Jamie Overton battled hard with his big shots. But his questionable no single theory, which was instructed by Adil Rashid, ended England’s last hope. 

Among the Indian bowlers, Ravi Bishnoi (3/28) and concussion-sub Harshit Rana (3/33) bagged three wickets each, and Varun Chakravarthy (2/28) got two wickets. 

While Mumbai will host the last game of the T20I series on Sunday (February 2), India have already secured the T20I series with a lead of 3-1.

Hosts India and the visitors England are once again ready for another exciting T20I match, which Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium (Pune) is set to host Friday (January 31) evening. It is the fourth game of the five-match T20I series, where India are leading it by 2-1. 

India won first two T20Is

Hosts India started the series with a strong seven-wicket win at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After the Indian bowlers dominated to restrict the visitors to 132 all out in 20 overs, the hosts comfortably chased the target in 12.5 overs after losing three wickets. Opener Abhishek Sharma scored firing 79 off 34 balls to guide the home side to a memorable win.

Chennai hosted the second T20I, where the disciplined Indian bowlers restricted the visitors to 165/9 in 20 overs. Tilak Varma (72 not out off 55 balls) played the most important role and calmly finished the game despite huge pressure as India chased the target in 19.2 overs after losing eight wickets.  

See Also: India vs England 2025 Test Series: Unprecedented Demand as Tickets Sell Out Early

England won Rajkot T20I

Rajkot hosted the third game of the series, where both teams’ bowlers were excellent. After England managed to score 171/9 in 20 overs, they restricted the hosts to 145/9 to secure their first win this tour.

Talking about the squads, Rinku Singh is set to return to the Indian squad, while Jacob Bethell can return to the English squad.

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium (Pune) is set to host its fifth T20I match, where the first two games ended with successful chasings and the next two experienced comfortable defending results. India have recorded two wins and two losses in this T20I venue, while England lost their only T20I at this venue, which was the T20I debut of this venue and India won by five wickets after successfully chasing the 158-run target. 

India vs England 4th T20I: Probable XIs

India predicted XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

England predicted XI: Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (Captain), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood. 

India vs England 4th T20I: Dream11 Top Captains and Vice-Captains

Top 3 Captain's choices: Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Jos Buttler

Top 3 Vice-Captain's choices: Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Brydon Carse

Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin slammed “Bazball” style cricket after England’s batting line-up struggled in the third straight T20I, which was played at Rajkot.

Hosts India and the visitors England are battling in the five-match T20I series, which is also the beginning of the new era of England white-ball cricket under the head coach Brendon McCullum. McCullum has already shown his coaching skills for England's Test side, as the aggressive batting strategy is now known as “Bazball," which has hits and flops. 

In Test cricket, the “Bazball” strategy earned some good memories as the over-aggressive batting style has been called “braveness.”. However, it has also earned many negative criticisms.

IND vs ENG T20I series 2025: England batters failed to impress

In the five-match T20I series, hosts India comfortably won the series opener at Kolkata by seven wickets and thrillingly clinched another two-wicket win in the second game at Chennai. In both those T20Is, English batting failed massively. Poor shot selections were the major reasons for England’s defeat in both those T20Is. 

Rajkot T20I also experienced a similar story. While England were batting at 83/1 at one stage on a comfortable batting pitch, they later found themselves at 127/8. Opener Ben Duckett provided a positive start with his 51 off 28 balls, but the visitors still struggled in the first innings. Liam Livingstone’s late smashing 43 off 24 balls (one four and five sixes) somehow helped England to score 171/9 in 20 overs.

Due to the disciplined bowling from the English bowlers, they restricted the hosts to 145/9 as the visitors finally tasted a win in the away T20I series. However, their unpopular batting strategy still can’t be overlooked. 

See Also: Varun Chakravarthy creates world record after Rajkot T20I success

Ravichandran Ashwin called English batting reckless cricket 

Legendary Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from international cricket last December, called the present English batting strategy reckless cricket. He surely doesn’t feel confident with this batting performance from the English side. 

There is a very fine line between playing aggressive brand of cricket and reckless cricket. #INDvENG

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) January 28, 2025

England beat India by 26 runs in the Rajkot T20I to make a comeback in the five-match T20I series, as the visitors are trailing by 2-1 in the series with two more to be played. With this win, the series is now 2-1 in favour of the hosts India with two matches yet to be played.

Leading the series by 2-0, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav chose to field first after winning the toss for the third straight time in this series. While England scored 171/9 in 20 overs, India only managed to score 145/9 in 20 overs. 

See Also: Mohammed Shami returns to international cricket after 14 months

Varun Chakravarthy recorded a fifer, Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone had important contributions

Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy took five wickets (5/24), as England faced a sudden collapse from 83/1 to 127/8. While the opener Ben Duckett scored 51 off 28 balls, and the in-form skipper Jos Buttler scored 24 runs, Liam Livingstone scored the crucial 43 off 24 balls with one four and five sixes. 

No strong reply from Indian batters against disciplined English bowlers

England bowlers completely dominated in the second innings, while Adil Rashid once again amazed with his mastery (4-0-15-1), including picking up the wicket of in-form Tilak Verman (18). Only Hardik Pandya (40) and Abhishek Sharma (24) scored 20+ runs in that innings, while Jamie Overton (3/24), Brydon Carse (2/28), and Jofra Archer (2/33) claimed more than one wicket.

Here are some Twitter reactions to the Rajkot T20I

Absolute seed🔥🔥.
Scrambled seam and serious side spin.
Top bowling Adil Rashid🤝🤝#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/9omCsdmaxU

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) January 28, 2025

Back to back wickets !! Indian fans right now 😒😒#INDvsENG #INDvENG Varun Harry Brook PHIL Salt Ben Duckett Bishnoi Sanju Samson
Archer Suryakumar Yadav....✌️👍 pic.twitter.com/sBI82dgSjW

— ✿Sᴀᴍʀɪᴅᴅʜɪ (@Samriddhi2025) January 28, 2025

MI fans watching captain Hardik pandya and SKY's batting in every match

#INDvsENG #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/XfC5Jgn7r4

— KohliForever (@KohliForever0) January 28, 2025

Blockbuster Varun continues to deliver! 🍿

How many wickets will he finish the #IndvsENG T20I series with?

10 - 12
12 - 15
15 - 20
#AmiIndia | Varun Chakaravarthy pic.twitter.com/oFO97Nyk3N

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) January 28, 2025

Livingstone cooked with 5 sixes and won the game for his team. 🔥🔥✊pic.twitter.com/2UbEpXr6H9

— Rahul Singh (@rahulsinggghhh) January 28, 2025

SIR LIAM LIVINGSTONE SHOW pic.twitter.com/xUAW1CcO38

— 😎🙇🙇 (@Kohliuniverse1) January 28, 2025

#INDvENG #INDvsENG

When no one is discussing about your contribution, whether it’s a win or loss🥹.

Gambhir saab, time to bring PR team to the rescue🤪 pic.twitter.com/1lSPlU3a9c

— Mastikhor 🤪 (@ventingout247) January 28, 2025

Another day of realising that not everyone is Virat Kohli.#ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/Bk89oUmzNT

— one8.xe🇮🇳 (@one8xe) January 28, 2025

Surya kumar yadav #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/f9EzCamD9e

— ᴊᴀʟꜱᴀ ᴋᴏʜʟɪ (@jalsakohli) January 28, 2025

Varun Chakravarthy in today's match v/s England be like 💥💥#INDvsENG #INDVENG
Ben Duckett Phil Salt Harry Brook pic.twitter.com/IZEel7xdsI

— Homskyra (@homskyra) January 28, 2025

RCB fans watching Phil Salt's batting in every match ...💔

#INDvsENG
pic.twitter.com/T7MauUB7x7

— Braj shyam maurya (@brijshyam07) January 28, 2025

Visitors England made a comeback in the T20I series against the hosts India after clinching a handsome 26-run win in the Rajkot T20I on Tuesday (January 28). 

Leading the T20I series by 2-0, the Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss once again and chose to field in the third of the five-match T20I series at Rajkot. It was the much-awaited comeback match for the Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who missed out on international cricket for more than 14 months. While England scored 171/9 in 20 overs, India replied with 145/9 in 20 overs. 

England innings: Ben Duckett powered before Varun Chakravarthy's magic

Although the opener Phil Salt once again lost his wicket early at five runs, his opening partner Ben Duckett set up a strong start with the in-form skipper Jos Buttler. Duckett was dominating the Indian bowlers from the powerplay and set up England’s first 50-run partnership in this T20I series as he had a 76-run partnership for the second wicket with Buttler. 

Once England were batting at 83/1, but the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav handled the spinners really well as the English batting line-up once again faced deep trouble. From 83/1, England were suddenly down to 127/8. 

While the skipper Buttler scored 24 off 22 balls, the opener Duckett scored 51 off 28 balls with seven fours and two sixes. 

Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy claimed a fifer as he had bowling figures of 4-0-24-5. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya picked up two wickets (2/33), while Axar Patel (1/19) and Ravi Bishnoi (1/46) got one wicket each. 

See Also: Jasprit Bumrah Honored as ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2024

Liam Livingstone added vital runs

While the other English middle and lower-order batters struggled, Liam Livingstone added some vital runs of 43 off 24 balls with the help of one four and five sixes. Also, Adil Rashid (10*) and Mark Wood’s (10*) additions proved crucial for the visitors.

Indian innings: No strong batting performance; England bowlers were disciplined powered by Adil Rashid

In reply, England were taking wickets at regular intervals, while the English skipper Jos Buttler handled the bowlers really well. Opener Abhishek Sharma got a strong start but was caught out for 24 off 14 balls as Jofra Archer took a great catch. Captain Suryakumar Yadav (14) is far away from his form, while Tilak Varma was finally dismissed by brilliant Adil Rashid for 18 runs.

Apart from Abhishek, only Hardik Pandya scored 20+ runs in that innings, but he didn’t get any support who could help him by at least rotating the strike. Pandya scored 40 off 35 balls with one four and two sixes but it was far from enough.

Adil Rashid was exceptional once again with the bowling figures of 4-0-15-1, while Jamie Overton took three wickets (3/24). Also, Brydon Carse (2/28) and Jofra Archer (2/33) picked up two wickets and Mark Wood got a wicket (1/29).

With the 26-run win, England are trailing the five-match T20I series by 2-1 with two to go. 

The 34-year-old Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami has finally returned to the game after more than 14 months. While the Indian captain Sruyakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to field first in Niranjan Shah Stadium (Rajkot) for the third T20I of the five-match series against England, he confirmed the news by announcing his playing XI. 

India are leading the home T20I series by 2-0 after winning the first two matches of the five-match series against England. With one more win, India will secure this home T20I series, while the visitors must win all the remaining three T20Is to win this series, so they can’t afford another defeat in this series. 

Leading the T20I series by 2-0, Indian skipper Sruyakumar Yadav chose to field first once again in the Rajkot T20I. India have made only one change in the playing XI for the Rajkot T20I, where the left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh has been rested and the right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Shami returns to the game. 

Mohammed Shami previously played an international cricket match during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 Final against Australia at Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023. After that match, where India were heartbroken with a six-wicket defeat.