5 players from the final who might play their last Champions Trophy

The story of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 has been nothing short of a fairy tale. The arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to battle it out in the final to achieve the ultimate glory at the Oval in London. The script of the tournament couldn’t have been better than this. The whole cricketing fraternity would be glued to the television sets to witness the battle between the neighbors. As we prepare ourselves for the big final, there are certain players who must be having on the back of their minds that they would be heading out on the ground in their national colors probably for the one final time in the Champions Trophy. The age certainly plays its role on the players and hence there comes a stage in every players’ life when certain thoughts do arrive. Let’s take a look at the 5 players from the final who might play their last game in the Champions Trophy: #1 MS Dhoni India’s MS Dhoni. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images) The former Indian captain has been a formidable player for the side for a number of years. He has all the trophies in the cabinet, one of them being the Champions Trophy itself that India won in 2013. He is aged 35 right now and by the time the next Champions Trophy arrives, he might not be around in the game anymore. Dhoni had given up the captaincy of Test cricket a couple of years back and then handed over over the reigns of ODIs and T20s as well to Virat Kohli. There is a certain decline in the prowess of the wicket-keeper with age but he is still good enough to go on as long as the 2019 ODI World Cup. #2 Shoaib Malik Shoaib Malik of Pakistan. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) The all-rounder is 35 years old and there are huge chances that he will call it quits from international cricket in the next 2-3 years. Malik was once known for his off-spin bowling with certain abilities with the bat. But later on, he affirmed his place in the side as a top order batsman. The right-hander is not bowling as much as he used to do once. He was dropped from the side a few years ago but made a remarkable comeback. In this year’s Champions Trophy, he hasn’t enjoyed the best of times and has managed to score just 42 runs in 3 innings so far. He would want to finish it on a winning note. #3 Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh of India. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) The 36-year-old is the only active player from the Champions Trophy of 2002 where India were the joint winners alongside Sri Lanka. It was that tournament where Yuvraj had announced his arrival on the big stage. Recently, he completed 300 ODIs and the longevity of the left-hander just goes to show how big a contributor he has been for India. After fighting cancer, he made a return to the international cricket but didn’t look like the same player who had played instrumental roles in winning 2 World Cups for India. But this year, he raised his game a few notches and stormed his way back in the side. This one is bound to be the last of the southpaw which he would want to make special. #4 Mohammad Hafeez Pakistan batsmen Mohammad Hafeez. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) The all-rounder has been a hefty contributor for the Pakistan side for a number of years. But now he is aging 36 which means that it’s unlikely that he would be around by the time next Champions Trophy shows up. Hafeez would certainly target to remain fit until the 2019 World Cup to be held in England. Hafeez has seen a lot in his career. He was once a prominent off-spinner in the side but a ban was imposed on him for having an illegal bowling action. After a remodeled action, he is no more the bowler he used to be. When it comes to batting, he was the opening batsman in the side but a mediocre run of form has forced him in the middle-order. #5 Azhar Ali Pakistan’s Azhar Ali AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI (Photo credit should read MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images) Being 32 years of age, Azhar Ali is the youngest to make the list of the players who might not play in the next edition of the Champions Trophy. Going by the age, he still has good 6-7 years of international cricket ahead of him but what works against him is the inability to cope with the changing times of ODI cricket. In this year’s tournament, he is the leading run-getter for Pakistan so far with 169 runs in 4 matches. But his strike rate is languishing at 71.31 where his partner Fakhar Zaman has scored runs at 117.95. In this era where it’s almost mandatory for an opener to have a strike rate of above 80, Azhar seems to be a misfit at this time. If he wants to keep playing the format, he needs to take a leaf out of Fakhar’s book.

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5 players from the final who might play their last Champions Trophy

Age certainly plays its effect and these players might not be around by the time next Champions Trophy is played

#2 Shoaib Malik

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