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Rohit Sharma to Lead India in Champions Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah Included

Rohit Sharma to Lead India in Champions Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah Included

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NEW DELHI, Jan 18: The 15-member Indian team for the coming Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan and Dubai next month was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai on Saturday with Rohit Sharma as the captain.

The injured ace pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has also been included in the team in case he becomes fit to play. Rohit Sharma will lead the side in the competition with Shubman Gill acting as his deputy. The same squad will also take on England in the three-match ODI series with Harshit Rana included for the ODI series only keeping Bumrah’s fitness in mind. Harshit Rana will be the back-up reserve for the England ODI series as Jasprit Bumrah will miss out the first two matches due to injury.

The BCCI chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma announced the squad at a press conference in Mumbai. Head coach Gautam Gambhir was not present at the press conference. Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav make a comeback in the Indian ODI squad. Mohammed Shami played white-ball cricket during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. After his excellent show during the Border-Gavaskar trophy series, Yashasvi Jaiswal gets his ODI call.

Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul will be the two wicketkeepers for both Champions Trophy and the England ODI series. There’s no place for pacer Mohammed Siraj though, as India have opted to go with left-arm fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh.

India will be playing all their matches at the Champions Trophy in UAE as the government had refused permission for the team to travel to Pakistan. The Champions Trophy will be starting on February 19 and finals on March 9.

The eight-team tournament will feature 15 50-over matches and will be played across Pakistan and Dubai. The biggest match of the tournament between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on February 23 in Dubai. India will start its campaign against Bangladesh on February 20. India’s last league match will be against New Zealand on March 2.

Group A of the tournament features current Champions Trophy holders and hosts Pakistan, along with India, New Zealand and Bangladesh, while Group B features Cricket World Cup 2023 champions Australia, alongside Afghanistan, England and South Africa. Before the ICC Champions Trophy, India will play a three-match ODI series against England which will be kickstarting on February 6.

After announcing the squad, Ajit Agarkar said Jasprit Bumrah may not get fit for the first two ODIs against England, forcing them to name Harshit Rana as a replacement as they await an update from the medical team on the lead pacer.

The peerless fast bowler though was named in the squad for the Champions Trophy that follows the three-match rubber against England. “Bumrah has been told to off-load for five weeks after and he won’t be available for the first two ODIs against England. We are waiting on his fitness and will know his status in early February from the medical team,” Agarkar said.

The BCCI had on Thursday unveiled a 10-point policy to break the so-called “star culture” and to promote “discipline and unity” making domestic cricket mandatory, imposing restriction on the presence of families and personal staff on tours and banning individual commercial endorsements during ongoing series.

It is learnt that the restrictions were sought by head coach Gautam Gambhir in a review meeting of the team’s recent poor run. Non-compliance would invite sanctions, including cuts in the players’ retainer fee from central contracts and a bar on participating in the cash-rich Indian Premier League.

The measures have been announced in the wake of the team’s disastrous tour of Australia during which it surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade. The debacle was preceded by a series whitewash against a relatively under-strength New Zealand at home. The 10 diktats make it mandatory for players to seek Gambhir and chairman of selectors’ Ajit Agarkar’s approval for any relaxation, including the duration of stay for their families on tour.

Before the ODIs, a five-match T20I series against England will start from January 22 onwards. The five-match T20I series will commence on January 22 in Kolkata. The second and third matches will be held on January 25 and 28 in Chennai and Rajkot, respectively. The fourth game of the series will be played on January 31 in Pune. Mumbai will host the final match of the T20I series on February 2.

India’s squad for 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 and Ravindra Jadeja.

(Manas Dasgupta)

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