Since its inception in 1998, the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy has witnessed a total of nine editions. The Indian national cricket team clinched their third title at the most recent 2025 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, hosted by Pakistan under the path-breaking leadership of Rohit Sharma.
While numerous legendary cricketers, including Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, Tony Grieg, and Kyle Jamieson, have shed their blood and sweat on the field to clinch the coveted ICC Champions Trophy for their respective teams, the history of the ICC Champions Trophy has also witnessed a few favoured cricketers who have won the title without playing even a single match throughout the tournament.
In this article we will take a look at the top 7 players who have won the ICC Champions Trophy without playing a single match.
ICC Champions Trophy : Top 7 Players Who Won Without Playing A Single Match
Irfan Pathan – India
The legendary former Indian international cricketer, Irfan Pathan, was a part of the Indian national cricket team in three editions of the ICC Champions Trophy; 2004, 2006 and 2013. Popularly referred to as “Guddu”, Irfan picked up a total of five and four wickets in the 2004 and 2006 editions respectively.
Although Irfan Pathan was also a part of India’s winning squad at the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 edition, he was sidelined by the management against the likes of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Umesh Yadav.
David Hussey – Australia
David Hussey was a part of the Australian national cricket team that participated in the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 season held in South Africa. Although the hard-hitting batsman was expected to strengthen the annihilating batting attack of the Aussies, he was eventually dropped by the management and other prominent names, including Cameron White, Callum Ferguson, Michael Hussey, and James Hopes, were given a chance to be in Australia’s middle-order.
Read More
Therefore, despite being a part of the Aussies national cricket team, David Hussey clinched the ICC Champions Trophy in 2009, he actually did not play even a single match.
Simon Katich – Australia
At the third spot in our list of the top 7 players who won the coveted ICC Champions Trophy without playing even a single match, we have former Australian cricketer Simon Katich. The Southpaw’s struggle to score winning runs at the DLF Cup in Malaysia just before the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 season had some major repercussions.
Although Simon was selected to be a part of the Australian national cricket team in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 season, he wasn’t given any time with the bat. Well, the Australian side won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006, but Simon Katich remained a mere participant and couldn’t prove his exploits on the field.
Makhaya Ntini – South Africa
Often hailed as one of the greatest and deadliest bowlers of his generation, former South African bowler Makhaya Ntini is at the fourth spot in our list of the top 7 players who won the coveted ICC Champions Trophy without playing even a single match.
Read More
The spearhead bowler, Makhaya Ntini, made his ODI debut and grabbed immense appreciation for his dominant 2/31 bowling exploits against New Zealand. Although Makhaya’s ground-breaking bowing exploits in his ODI debut earned him a spot in South Africa’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 1998, he was overshadowed by legendary South African bowlers Jacques Kallis and Steve Elworthy.
Tillakaratne Dilshan – Sri Lanka
Next, at the fifth spot in our list of the top 7 players who won the coveted ICC Champions Trophy without playing even a single match, we have former Sri Lankan international cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan, who is still considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all-time. Well, Tillakaratne Dilshan was included in the Sri Lanka squad for the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy owing to his batting dominance in the mid-2000s.
While Tillakaratne Dilshan was anticipated to establish himself as the flag bearer of the Sri Lankan side, he did not get to play even a single match and was easily swapped with the popular names like the likes of Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, and Russell Arnold in the middle-order.
Ajinkya Rahane – India
Iconic former captain and former vice-captain of the Indian team in Test cricket, Ajinkya Rahane, is at the sixth spot in our list of the top 7 players who won the coveted ICC Champions Trophy without playing even a single match. The current skipper of both Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ajinkya Rahane was a part of the Indian national cricket team that clinched the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
The Indian team, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, remained consistent throughout the tournament and won the rain-affected final by a margin of five runs through the DLS method. Since the top and middle batting lineup of the Indian cricket team did not crumble, Ajinkya Rahane did not get a chance to play even a single match throughout the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Rishabh Pant
The Indian international cricketer Rishabh Pant, who played a crucial role in leading the Indian side to an unbeaten victory at the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024, shockingly did not get even a single game to play in the most recent 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Although Rishabh Pant was anticipated to shine bright throughout the tournament, KL Rahul overshadowed him to a great extent with his exceptional performances. Therefore, Rishabh Pant did not get even a single match to play throughout the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
