Former players like Irfan Pathan and Sunil Gavaskar have unveiled their picks for the Men in the Blue team as Indian cricket fans await the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) major ICC Champions Trophy 2025 decision.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the availability of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, the BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, recently asked the ICC for a delay on the squad announcement. Gavaskar and Pathan made some obvious omissions when they presented their selections, even though the official team is anticipated to be unveiled on January 19.
As the backbone of India's middle order, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were a must for the Champions Trophy, according to batting great Sunil Gavaskar. Sanju Samson, particularly after his outstanding achievements in the shortest format, cannot be disregarded either. In Gavaskar's lineup, Rishabh Pant is also given a spot.
"If I am sitting there I will say who has done really well in the recent past. KL Rahul had a fantastic 50-over World Cup. Shreyas Iyer - the kind of ODI World Cup he had, I think he needed some backing. In the last few months, he has not got that backing. I will definitely back these two guys to be there in the Champions Trophy," he said on Star Sports.
"No. 4 for me will be Shreyas Iyer. No. 5 will be KL Rahul and No. 6 will be Rishabh Pant. Sanju Samson, with the hundreds he has scored, has to be in the squad because he has scored hundreds for India. How can you ignore somebody who is scoring hundreds for his country?" he added.
On the other hand, Irfan Pathan chose Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as the two spinners in the Indian team. Irfan wants Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami to be the first two pacers in the team. Mohammed Siraj was third in the pecking order when it comes to the pace bowlers.
"If you have this kind of balance, you will have Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8 and then obviously you have batting and bowling options. This is as good a batting lineup as you will see. Having a fast-bowling all-rounder as your backup is a wonderful option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is on a high also. Not easy to perform in Australia, he has done that," Irfan said.
"Mohammed Siraj will be the third one, not in the playing XI if Bumrah and Shami are available but we have got to see what happens with Bumrah going forward. We hope that the injury is not that severe," he observed.
Notably, there was no place for Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, and a few other top players in the team.
Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan's India squad for Champions Trophy 2025:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj and Nitish Kumar Reddy
