The India cricket team’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy will be announced later today (January 18). All the eyes will be on those 15 men selected and those who couldn’t make the cut. While most of the team is already built with the majority of the team from ODI World Cup 2023 still intact, there are still some questions.
Samson over Pant for Kaif
The fitness of players like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav remains a point of concern, and hence eyeballs are on whether they were selected. And, if they are, are there any fitness asterisks on them? If they move forward from them, there will be questions of how they prefer whom.
Some want Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team, while others mull over who should be the second wicketkeeper after KL Rahul. Mohammad Kaif, former Indian cricketer, wants Sanju Samson over Rishabh Pant in India’s 15-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.
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Arshdeep Singh preffered over Jaiswal, Samson backup opener
Kaif also doesn’t have Jaiswal in his team. He instead has chosen to add a fast bowler in place of him. He’s picked left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in his squad. This means that he wants Samson to cover as an opener in case there is an injury to either Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill.
In his own words, Kaif thinks Samson isn’t as good a wicketkeeper as Pant. However, he chose the batter from Kerala due to his recent performance with the willow. One must add that Rahul’s keeping isn’t on the same level as Pant’s either, but his batting is invaluable.
Mohammad Kaif’s India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah , Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami
