Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav have been included in India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, slated to be held in Pakistan and UAE from February 19 to March 9.

Both Bumrah and Kuldeep were dealing with injuries leading up to the squad announcement. While Kuldeep has been recovering from hernia surgery since November, Bumrah picked up a back spasm during the fifth BGT Test against Australia in Sydney earlier this month.

The same squad will face England in three ODIs in early February, with Harshit Rana added as a backup for Bumrah, who might not be fully fit for the first two matches of the series.

Apart from Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh feature in India’s pace attack for the Champions Trophy. The 15-member squad includes three spin-bowling all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

Reflecting on the squad, former cricketer Aakash Chopra said India's choice of extra spin options could backfire, akin to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Chopra believes it’s not a ‘great thing’ and shows a lack of confidence in the batting line-up. During the Australia tour, India opted to play extra all-rounders like Nitish Kumar Reddy and Sundar for the batting depth over going after 20 wickets with four specialist pace options. The move backfired multiple times as the team became reliant on Bumrah and Siraj.

“The one overriding thought or theme was who all can bat because you need a batter at No. 8. So you picked Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. You could have picked a fast bowler instead of that, and if you needed a spinner only, then you could have picked Varun Chakaravarthy. I see two of the three spin-bowling all-rounders, who all bat left-handed, playing," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“All three are defensive options in ODI cricket. We consistently saw a slight lack of confidence in batting in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. We needed a batter at No. 8. So we are picking bowlers who can bat, and I feel it’s the same theme this time as well, which is not a great thing because you have to show confidence in your batting. You have to pick bowlers who take wickets," he added.

According to Chopra, the combination of four spinners (including Kuldeep Yadav) and four pacers (including Hardik Pandya) is not ideal for the conditions at play in Dubai.

“It will be slightly cold in Dubai. A little dew might also come later in Dubai. There could be slightly more help for fast bowlers in Dubai. The Dubai pitch doesn’t and won’t help spinners much. It is rock-hard. It seems like the pitch has been made on a mountain," Chopra stated.

“Even if you continuously play for 10 days there, cracks aren’t formed at all. It can stay low but the ball doesn’t turn there and the square remains like that. So more fast bowlers are required and fewer spinners but India have picked four spinners," he remarked.

India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.