After all the wait, India have finally announced their squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. 11 out of the 15 announced were a part of the 2023 World Cup where India won 10 games in a row before losing the final against Australia. Rohit Sharma is set to lead in his fourth ICC event while Shubman Gill has been named as the vice-captain of the ODI team.
The 15-member squad is on expected lines barring the exclusion of Mohammed Siraj which comes as a surprise. The 30-year-old fast bowler has taken 71 wickets in 43 ODIs at an average of 22.97 since the start of 2022 which is the third-most for any bowler in this period.
Arshdeep Singh has been picked in the side which consists of three frontline pacers with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami being the other two. The left-arm pacer has played only eight ODIs and has taken 12 scalps at an economy of 5.05. However, he has been India’s premier pacer in T20I cricket over the last three years, taking 95 wickets from 60 games.
Bumrah has been included but his participation is subject to fitness. The ace India fast bowler is going to miss the ODI series against England and Harshit Rana will replace him for the three games. Bumrah’s fitness will be monitored closely and he has been advised five weeks of rest. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed that there will be an update on the lead pacer’s fitness in early February.
“We are waiting on Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness. He has been advised to refrain from bowling for five weeks. We will know his status in early February from BCCI’s medical team,” Ajit Agarkar was quoted saying in the press conference.
Shami is the other pacer in the squad. He is going to make his international comeback in the T20Is against England and seems fully fit.
India opt for four all-rounders while Kuldeep returns
The Rohit Sharma-led side have opted to go in for four all-rounders, three of them being spin options. Hardik Pandya is the sole seam-bowling all-rounder with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel being left-arm options. Washington Sundar is the only off-spinner in the squad. Kuldeep Yadav will lead the spin attack. The left-arm leg-spinner underwent surgery for a sports hernia last month.
The batting is on predictable lines with Rohit, Gill and Kohli forming the top-order. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were in fabulous form in the 2023 World Cup and are the incumbents at No. 4 and 5 respectively. Rishabh Pant is the backup wicket-keeping option while Yashasvi Jaiswal has received a maiden ODI call-up. He will be the third opener in the squad behind Rohit and Gill.
India’s first game of the Champions Trophy is against Bangladesh on the 20th of February. They face Pakistan and New Zealand on the 23rd of February and 2nd of March respectively. All of India’s games will be played in Dubai. The venue will remain the same if they qualify for the semi-finals and final.
SQUAD: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.
