“India’s Champions Trophy Squad. “Is This India’s Best Squad Ever?
Newz Daddy Cricket Updates
Rohit Sharma is the captain, and Shubman Gill is the vice-captain of the team. The selection has included only three fast bowlers, while there are four spinners, three of whom are all-rounders and all left-handed. This selection has raised some eyebrows, especially since Sanju Samson and Karun Nair were not picked. Additionally, there is no place for Mohammed Siraj in the ODI series against England.
The current batting unit for the 2023 World Cup remains unchanged, with Rohit and Gill leading. Despite questions about Gill’s recent performance, he has been made vice-captain, indicating a strong focus on him from the management, did Rohit is playing politics with Hardik Pandya as he was Vice Captain in 2023 world cup?
To be fair, Shubman Gill’s numbers in ODIs are very good, so I say well done to him as vice-captain and to Rohit Sharma as captain. There was no doubt that Yashasvi Jaiswal would be the third opener, and he has been selected. However, I want to point out that he won’t be playing against England or in the Champions Trophy initially.
So now we have three openers: Rohit, Gill, and Jaiswal. Following them, we have Virat Kohli, who was always going to be included, and Shreyas Iyer, who also deserves his spot.
KL Rahul was always going to be the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter, and Hardik Pandya is also included. So, the top six players are sorted, and I think they look very strong. Their performances in white-ball cricket over the past year or two have been outstanding, so there’s no reason to change things. Why fix it if it isn’t broken? The batting lineup looks good.
Rishabh Pant has been kept as a backup wicketkeeper. There was a question about whether Sanju Samson or Rishabh Pant would be selected, but this sends a clear message about the direction the team wants to take. Do they want to back Sanju or stick with Rishabh Pant? This is a huge debate because Sanju has many supporters who love him, while Rishabh doesn’t seem to have as many fans. However it is a buzz that since Sanju Samson did not play Vijay Hazare trophy and hence his place is taken by Rishabh Pant.
Rishabh Pant is considered a generational talent, and I will keep saying this. At just 25 years old, he has achieved what many of India’s greatest wicketkeeper-batters could not in their entire careers over the last 50-60 years. He has scored runs in white-ball cricket across England, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand but is still not fully established. I want to give him more chances and keep him involved in the team and more importantly he is a left handed batsman and has the capability to take the game away from the oposition in India’s favor on his day and he has done that many times.
Now it’s time to discuss the spinners and all-rounders chosen for the squad.
Regarding the weather in Dubai, it will be slightly cooler, and there might be some dew later on. The pitch in Dubai tends to favor fast bowlers more than spinners, as it is quite hard and does not develop cracks even after continuous play for days. Therefore, you need more fast bowlers and fewer spinners.
India has picked four spinners for this tournament, which is a lot. In the past, Rohit mentioned in a press conference that he had a strategy regarding spinners, but he didn’t reveal it then. This time, he has chosen four spinners, which is correct given that the pitch was spin-friendly in previous matches.
However, my concern is that you cannot play with four spinners in the World Cup; you typically don’t play with more than three. This raises an issue about the number of spinners selected. The theme behind selecting so many spinners seems to be about batting depth. You need a batter at number eight, so you’ve picked Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar. From these three, you might play two because you need a batter at number eight.
You could have picked a fast bowler instead of selecting so many spinners. If you needed a spinner, Varun Chakravarthy could have been a good choice, but he wasn’t selected. Kuldeep Yadav is in the squad, which is good news as he is fit and ready to play. Among the three left-handed all-rounder spinners chosen, I see two of them playing, but all three are actually defensive options in one-day cricket. They are not wicket-taking bowlers but rather bowlers who rely on holding runs.
I also think about Nitish Kumar Reddy as another option if you need a batter at number eight. He could have done that job well since pace will be more effective there. I don’t believe spin will play a significant role on Dubai Pitch.
The lack of confidence in batting has been evident recently against Australia and we need a reliable batter at number eight. Therefore, we are picking bowlers who can bat. This seems to be the same theme again, which isn’t great because with such strong batting, you should have confidence that they can handle it. If your bowlers can’t bat well, that’s not a good situation.
They have picked four spinners, three of whom are left-handed, and only three fast bowlers. This is significant because if you’re picking three fast bowlers, it indicates your thought process. You will likely only play two of them; if you intended to play three, you would have picked four. This shows that you might plan to play three spinners; instead, you might go with Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Now regarding the fast bowlers, selectors have selected Jasprit Bumrah’s; the selectors may have the better update of his injury and hence have selected him. Bumrah may not paly all the three matches aginst England and may play the last match to just give him match practice and keep him fresh for Champions Trophy.
His inclusion in the team is a huge shy of releif for all Indian fans as we all know how lethal he is in all three formats of the game.
However, Mohammad Shami might be fit to play, but we don’t know about his form or international fitness level.
Arshdeep Singh is being included in the ODI squad, which means there is no place for Mohammed Siraj. I feel that Siraj hasn’t done anything so bad that he should be completely left out. “I genuinely feel for you, Siraj”, but I believe he should have been part of this team. They could have picked one less spinner.
As there is a place for only 15 member, everyone cannot be included and someone has to sit out and wait for their chance next time and there is always next time if you work hard and perform well.
Inclusion of Arshdeep singh is excellent move as he gives a variety in fast bowling and I strongly believe that he should be the part of Indian team in red ball format also as he has every arm in his arsnel.
The current selection looks good and stable squad, but when you choose only three pace bowlers, you need to play two of them.
The team has to play a slightly different style of cricket in Dubai due to the conditions. The pitches will be flat, and may not be spinners friendly. Lets hope for the best and team India does well in Champions Trophy.
So this is the final 15-member Indian Squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 and for ODI England series against England which will be before Champions Trophy.
Team India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.