In what is a good news for India cricket team, skipper Rohit Sharma and pacer Mohammed Shami brushed aside injury concerns to feature in the final Champions Trophy group stage game against New Zealand. The Men in Blue made just one change for the game, deciding to rest Harshit Rana and bring in Varun Chakravarthy instead. India will be playing with four spinners in the game against the Kiwis.
Harshit Rana rested, Rohit & Shami fine
There were doubts about Rohit and Shami’s participation ahead of the toss. However, the Indian skipper walked out for the toss, confirming his participation. Later, while speaking after losing the toss, he confirmed that the veteran pacer will also be playing in the game against New Zealand. The Indian pace battery will comprise of Shami and Hardik Pandya while the spin unit will feature Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Chakravarthy.
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India’s playing XI vs NZ
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
While Rohit had suffered a hamstring injury scare in IND vs PAK match, Shami too had an injury scare in the same game. However, the Indian camp had clarified that both players were fine and they were seen grinding it out in the nets. While the Hitman missed a session of practice on Wednesday, he returned to the nets on Friday as he was seen focusing on his batting. Shami, on the other hand, bowled 7-8 overs at a stretch in full tilt in the final practice session.
It is pertinent to point out that Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh are yet to get a game in Champions Trophy. The trio have warmed the bench so far in the tournament. Meanwhile, Chakravarthy – who was added to the squad in the last-minute as a mystery spinner – finally gets a match after making his ODI debut in the series against England.
