Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik talked about who will open for India in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The ICC 50-over event is set to be played in Pakistan in February-March next year.
Though will India travel to Pakistan for the tournament remains a question, talks have begun about the combination with which the Indian team will enter the Champions Trophy 2025. India last won an ICC ODI trophy in 2013, when lifted the Champions Trophy.
Since then, they have lost in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2023 ICC World Cup.
Dinesh Karthik shared his two cents on the matter and said that India should go with the tried and tested opening pair of captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Gill was Rohit's opening partner at the 2023 World Cup, where India finished runner-up, scoring 354 runs and capping off a blockbuster year.
He also felt that talented Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has become the first-choice opener in Tests and T20Is, will continue to be the backup option.
"Why? Rohit and Shubman are a very good combination. Yes, Jaiswal has a great opportunity to be the backup opener and will get his opportunity soon if Shubman doesn't go as well as expected. And India has a very solid middle order as well," Karthik told Cricbuzz.
Team India recently lost the ODI series to Sri Lanka, and they only have three more 50-over games until the Champions Trophy.
That is why Karthik believes India would not experiment much with their opening combination, given that they only have a few games remaining in the tune-up to CT 2025. With Ishan Kishan out of the picture, Jaiswal, who has yet to play an ODI, is anticipated to be given the green light.
"In the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, they are just going to be playing three more games. And I am pretty confident it's going to be Rohit and Shubman opening for the Champions Trophy," he added.
Meanwhile, the ICC must decide whether Pakistan will host the entire Champions Trophy or will use a hybrid model, as the BCCI has apparently chosen not to travel to the neighboring country.
