Picture : ANI / X
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee have finally announced Indian squads for the England ODI’s and the Champions Trophy 2025 beginning on February 19. Rohit Sharma will lead in both . Shubman Gill has been named as his deputy.
The three ODIs against England – February 6: First ODI vs England (Nagpur), February 9: Second ODI vs England (Cuttack), February 12: Third ODI vs England (Ahmedabad), will be India’s last in the format before they begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
Well the rest are familiar names – Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer , Rishabh Pant, Yashsvi Jaiswal, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Taking a gamble Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy with his availability depending on fitness. Bumrah had suffered back spasms during the recent Sydney Test against Australia and did not bowl on the final day at SCG.
Speaking at press conference Skipper Rohit Sharma hoped that seasoned pacer Shami and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh will support Bumrah, or step in the eventuality of him missing the tournament.
India’s squad for the #ChampionsTrophy 2025 announced! 💪 💪
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— BCCI (@BCCI) January 18, 2025
“Obviously, with Bumrah missing, we’re not sure. We wanted Arshdeep to come and play that role of bowling at the back end and Shami, obviously we saw what he did with the new ball (in the World Cup 2023 and during the recent domestic matches).”
Shami is returning to the ODI set up for the first time since the 2023 World Cup, and the pacer has done well in the domestic matches (Ranji Trophy, SMAT and VHT), even though he is yet to hit the peak rhythm.
“Arshdeep hasn’t played a lot of ODIs but he’s been around the white-ball circuit for a long time. I don’t feel so uncomfortable saying that he’s not experienced.
“He has bowled some tough overs in white-ball cricket. I definitely think he can handle that pressure and Shami is a stalwart of white-ball cricket and what he did recently in the (ODI) World Cup was superb to watch,” he added.
England ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant(wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
