BCCI announces 15-member Team India squad for ICC Champions Trophy
What's the story
The Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee met at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters on Saturday to pick India's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit Sharma will lead Team India with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the side. Rishabh Pant has also made the cut. However, Jasprit Bumrah has also been included, despite injury concerns. Here's more.
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A look at India's squad
India's Champions Trophy squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep SIngh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja.
Shami
Selectors show faith in Shami
Shami returned to the national side for the upcoming T20Is against England after a 14-month absence from international cricket due to an ankle injury. The last time Shami represented India was during the ICC Cricket World Cup final against Australia. Notably, Shami won't feature in all five T20Is against England. Keeping his workload management in focus, the selectors picked him for the Champions Trophy.
Duo
India include doubtful Bumrah and recovering Kuldeep
Bumrah will not feature in the ODI series against England. Harshit Rana has been included in place of Bumrah for the 3-match ODI series ahead of the Champions Trophy. Bumrah is expected to recover in time for the tourney. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who is recovering after surgery, has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy. He too makes the cut.
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No place for Mohammed Siraj
India dropped Mohammed Siraj for the Champions Trophy, going with pace options in Bumrah, Shami and Arshdeep Singh. All-rounder Hardik Pandya will be the 4th pace-bowling option.
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Plenty of spin options and all-rounders
India have three spin-bowling all-rounders in Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. They will support Kuldeep, who is the main spin figure. Pandya comes in as the 4th all-rounder of this side.
Snub
Conversations will be around him, says Agarkar on Karun Nair
Chief selector Agarkar said it's difficult to fit Karun Nair in the current squad. However, the former Indian pacer lauded the Vidarbha captain for a fantastic season in Vijay Hazare Trophy. "He has earned out attention. Conversations will be around him if someone is injured and there's a place that crops up in the squad," Agarkar said. Nair has scored 750-plus runs in VHT.
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India's CT group stage fixtures
India's group stage fixtures: February 20 - India vs Bangladesh, Dubai; February 23 - India vs Pakistan, Dubai; March 2 - India vs New Zealand, Dubai.