3 clear indications from India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad ft. Shubman Gill as vice-captain

Rohit Sharma will lead India in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will begin on February 19. The BCCI recently announced India's squad for the tournament, which will be hosted by Pakistan and the UAE.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has earned his maiden call-up to the ODI squad, with the team set to face off against England ahead of the ICC event. Others like Arshdeep Singh and Washington Sundar, who haven't exactly established themselves in the 50-over format, have made the grade as well.

India's squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.

On that note, here are three clear indications from India's squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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#3 Shubman Gill could be the man to take over from Rohit Sharma

India v England - 4th Test Match: Day Four - Source: Getty

Rohit Sharma is clearly nearing the end of his international career. The veteran batter has retired from the shortest format of the game and recently lost his place in the red-ball side towards the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Going forward, India will need to groom their successor for Rohit in the 50-over format as well. Shubman Gill, who captains the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, has been named the team's vice-captain for the Champions Trophy.

A certain starter in the ODI side, Gill is the natural choice to take over from Rohit, who is unlikely to make it to the next edition of the World Cup 2027. There have been discussions involving Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and even Jasprit Bumrah when it comes to the ODI captaincy, but India seem to have settled on the young opener.

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#2 Mohammed Siraj's inconsistency has finally cost him heavily

India v New Zealand: Semi Final - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023 - Source: Getty

Mohammed Siraj, who has taken more wickets than any other pacer in ODIs since the start of 2022, has been left out of India's Champions Trophy squad. While he has had his moments in the format, he hasn't been able to come up with consistently penetrative spells across phases.

The selectors clearly view Siraj as a one-dimensional bowler. In the press conference, Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma alluded to Arshdeep Singh's ability with the older ball as the reason behind the Hyderabad-born pacer being dropped. It's a touch unfair on Siraj, but there's merit to their belief.

It's also safe to say that had Siraj been more consistent with his form across formats, the selectors wouldn't have had the heart to drop him, especially with questions over the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

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#1 India foresee spin-friendly conditions in the UAE

India v Australia: Final - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023 - Source: Getty

India have named only three fast bowlers in their squad, of which two are either injured or recently recovered from injury. Arshdeep, meanwhile, hasn't established himself as a stable member of the ODI squad.

On the other hand, the spin department has been beefed up. Apart from Kuldeep Yadav, India can call upon all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

Clearly, the Men in Blue foresee spinning conditions in the UAE, where they will play their Champions Trophy matches. They might opt to play Hardik Pandya as the third pacer in their first-choice XI, and that could play into their hands given the current strength of their fast-bowling unit.

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