What an enthralling T20I series it was between India and England. What started with the guile of Varun Chakravarthy ended with one of the greatest T20I performances by Abhishek Sharma, who slammed a 37-ball century. However, the focus now shifts to what’s more important—the ICC Champions Trophy. Before that, India plays a preparatory bilateral against England, starting in Nagpur. The squad for the two ODI assignments remains the same. Harshit Rana, however, is in the ODIs against England, with Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness still under scanner.
No Champions Trophy reserves for India yet
On January 18, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media in Mumbai and named India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Interestingly, there were no travelling reserves named. Usually, teams carry a minimum of three travelling reserves in an ICC tournament and we could expect the same in the upcoming mini-World Cup.
Unlike the other seven nations, India will play all their ICC Champions Trophy matches in Dubai. There have been updates on tickets for the Dubai leg as well. Since India will travel overseas, they need to plan in advance on who will be their reserves. Not taking any reserves could definitely hamper, as you might face logistical issues on an ad-hoc basis.
Injury rules Sanju Samson out of contention
Sanju Samson is now out due to a finger injury for a considerable time. He was hit by Jofra Archer in the 5th T20I on the index finger. He could’ve been a perfect fit as a travelling reserve for the ICC Champions Trophy. He barely missed out on a second-choice keeper spot as Rohit Sharma chose Rishabh Pant. Samson is a proper batter, with an excellent ODI record and can bat anywhere. However, with him out of pitcure for a month now, one should look at other options.
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Who should be India’s 3 reserves for Champions Trophy?
Considering India’s squad for the mega event, they need reinforcement in the pace department. India only have three specialist pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Arshdeep Singh. Two out of these pacers (Bumrah & Shami) have injury concerns. Hence, a pace-bowling backup is a must and hence here comes Mohammed Siraj. Siraj was unfortunately left out despite being a workhorse for the team across formats.
The next slot should be for Nitish Kumar Reddy. He showed his mettle at the Border Gavaskar Trophy and NKR is deemed a future permanent replacement for Pandya. There were calls for Reddy to be in the squad as well when he hit a historic ton in the Boxing Day Test. Hardik Pandya is the MVP of this India team and having his backup is a necessity.
Now, here comes the third option. It should purely be management’s take as to who they want as a backup. It could be an in-form Varun Chakravarthy or another pace-bowling option in Harshit Rana. Chakravarthy, who ended up with an amazing T20I bilateral series against England. He bagged 14 wickets at an flabbergasting average of 9.86. He would be an X-factor if in the team.
India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
- Rohit Sharma (C)
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
Ravindra Jadeja
