India’s long Test season has come to an end. They had five Test matches at home where they faced Bangladesh (won 2-0) and New Zealand (lost 0-3) before they flew to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where they lost 1-3. After a gruelling red-ball season, the focus now shifts to the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The eight-team mega event is only about six weeks away and all teams are expected to be announced in the next few days. India have not played a lot of ODI cricket since the end of the 2023 World Cup. They faced South Africa in a three-match series back in December 2023 and played just one 50-over series in 2024 which was against Sri Lanka (and they lost 0-2).
However, the Rohit Sharma-led side will have a three-match series against England before the Champions Trophy. That will act as ideal preparation for the big tournament.
There have been quite a few reports circulating around the team that could be picked. It is expected that Rohit Sharma will continue to lead the ODI side. He was magnificent in the 2023 World Cup where India reached the finals without losing a single game before they lost to Australia in the title clash. In fact, the 37-year-old has also been one of the best batters in the side. He smashed 597 runs in 11 games in the 2023 World Cup while striking at 125.94 before making 157 runs in three innings at a strike-rate of 141.44 in Sri Lanka last year.
Shubman Gill is expected to open the batting alongside him. He averages 58.20 in the 50-over format and has been a prolific run-getter. That means that Yashasvi Jaiswal who has been magnificent in Tests and T20Is will have to wait for his turn in the 50-over format. Virat Kohli will be at No. 3. His form has dipped over the last year or so but he is one of the greatest one-day batters of all time.
There could be a debate in the middle-order but Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant could be vying for the two spots at No. 4 and 5. The former two were an integral part of the 2023 World Cup side and have performed very well in the opportunities they’ve got in the middle-order. Meanwhile, Pant has played only one ODI since making a comeback from his fatal car accident.
Hardik Pandya is a lock at No. 6. He may not have featured in a single ODI game since the last World Cup but he has been playing T20I cricket along with domestic 50-over games regularly. The Baroda seam-bowling all-rounder is critical to the balance of the squad. Nitish Kumar Reddy could be picked as Pandya’s backup after the 21-year-old’s exploits in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar will be fighting for the spin-bowling all-rounder’s slot at No. 7. Two of these three are likely to be picked in the 15-man squad. Kuldeep Yadav who underwent a surgery for sports hernia recently will be the premier spinner. However, if he is not fit, India could opt for multiple spin-bowling all-rounders in their XI.
Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be named as Rohit’s deputy. He will lead the pace attack alongside the returning Mohammed Shami. The latter has been out of international cricket for nearly 15 months now. He suffered an ankle injury and underwent surgery which kept him out of the game for more than a year. The Bengal pacer returned to domestic cricket this season and has featured in one Ranji game alongside the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh are expected to be the other pacers in the squad.
INDIA’S LIKELY SQUAD: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
India’s Champions Trophy campaign to start on February 20 vs Bangladesh
India will be playing all their matches of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai. Their first game is against Bangladesh on the 20th of February. The high-octane clash against Pakistan is on the 23rd before their last group-stage fixture against New Zealand on the 2nd of March.
India have been excellent in the last few men’s ICC tournaments and also, the Champions Trophy, in particular. They won the T20 World Cup in 2024, they reached the final of the 2023 World Cup. They were semi-finalists in the 2022 T20 World Cup and 2019 World Cup. As far as the Champions Trophy is concerned, they won the tournament in 2013 and reached the final in 2017. Thus, the ‘Men in Blue’ will be a team to watch out for.
