In a massive boost to England’s chances of tasting success in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, opener Ben Duckett passed the fitness test, getting cleared of a left groin injury scare he suffered during the third ODI against India in Ahmedabad. Duckett scored twin fifties on an otherwise horrid tour of India, where England lost seven of the eight contested matches across two formats.

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During the final ODI at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, Duckett pulled up his groin while fielding, looking visibly hampered during his quick-fire 34 in England’s chase. Although he smoked a few boundaries, including hitting Arshdeep Singh for a few fours in an over, Duckett struggled with his groin during this brief stay.

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However, with England spending some time in the UAE ahead of their Champions Trophy campaign, the tests done on Duckett’s left groin revealed no significant issue, with the ECB press release declaring him ‘fit and available’ for the eight-team tournament starting February 19 in Pakistan.

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England will take on rivals Australia in their tournament opener (February 22) in Lahore. 

Injury-hit England camp

England is due to arrive in Pakistan a day before the curtain-raiser between the hosts and New Zealand, and with Duckett being declared fit, the camp must be oozing with confidence. 

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While England has already lost their emerging all-rounder Jacob Bethell to a hamstring injury, with opener Tom Banton replacing him in the CT squad, the former world champions are sweating over Jamie Smith’s calf injury, who hasn’t featured in the playing XI since January 28.

England also remain concerned about their bowling department, with seamer Brydon Carse nursing a toe injury while all-rounder Jamie Overton is down with a hamstring issue. Premier seamer Jofra Archer also suffered a cut on his hand. 

Meanwhile, following an outburst from former cricketers, including England’s own Kevin Pietersen and India’s Ravi Shastri, over their failed preparation for the sub-continent leg, head coach Brendon McCullum defended his team’s training against remarks about the number of practice session.

"Guys have come from a lot of cricket, and keeping guys fresh is just as important, especially when you have injuries. We've done lots of training. We have had injuries in the camp, so we've backed guys off a little bit to make sure we had a fit team,” McCullum said while responding to Shastri’s remarks of England having just one training session throughout the ODI series, which they lost 0-3. 

England’s Champions Trophy Squad –

Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt and Mark Wood

(With inputs from agencies)