India's strongest playing XI for the 2025 Champions Trophy ft. Yashasvi Jaiswal & Shubman Gill

On Saturday, January 18, the BCCI announced India's squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The marquee ICC event will be preceded by an exciting white-ball assignment against England.

Rohit Sharma will lead India in the Champions Trophy, with Shubman Gill as his deputy. The contingent didn't feature fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who has been one of the team's highest wicket-takers in the format over the last three years.

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.

India have plenty of talent in their ranks and have a few combinations to play with across the board. They might have to make some bold calls to put out their best side for the tournament.

On that note, here is India's strongest playing XI for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Yashasvi Jaiswal

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

Rohit Sharma, as the captain, will walk into the side. There are concerns over his form and obvious decline, but he was incredible at the top of the order in the 2023 World Cup. India will hope that he can continue in the same vein.

Rohit's partner has been Shubman Gill over the last few years. But given how Yashasvi Jaiswal has dominated the Test and T20I formats at the top of the order, with the second being alongside Rohit, it's only natural to want the southpaw in the same role in the 50-over format as well.

Jaiswal is an immensely talented batter and could single-handedly win matches within the powerplay. An excellent player of spin, he will also be deadly in the middle-overs phase, where only four fielders are allowed outside the circle.

Moving Gill away from a role he has aced isn't the most encouraging idea, but Rohit's presence means that sacrifices have to be made somewhere. And dropping Jaiswal in arguably his best format (despite the fact that he hasn't played an ODI yet) simply isn't an option.

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Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja

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

Virat Kohli was at his prolific best in the World Cup. Like Rohit, his form hasn't been anywhere close to ideal, but India will hope that he can continue to dominate the ODI format.

Dropping Shreyas Iyer would be extremely unfair on the batter, given how key a role he has played in the middle order over the last few years. But some tough calls have to be made, and although Shreyas has been one of the world's best batters in his position, he has clear limitations in his technique.

Gill, as an assured player of both spin and pace in the middle overs, could take to a middle-order role with ease. He has already been earmarked for one in the longer formats, and the fact that he's been named vice-captain means that India see him as a pivotal part of the ODI setup going forward.

KL Rahul's inclusion ahead of Rishabh Pant would leave India without a specialist left-hander in the top five, but the Karnataka keeper-batter has barely put a foot wrong in the format and deserves his place. Pant has done decently in ODIs as well but could have to wait for his turn.

Hardik Pandya, as the country's best pace-bowling all-rounder, is one of the team's most important players. Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, should hold his place in the XI ahead of Axar Patel by virtue of being a better bowling option.

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Lower Order: Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

Sri Lanka v India - ODI Series: Game 2 - Source: Getty

India are likely to encounter spin-friendly pitches in the UAE and could be okay with Hardik serving as the third pacer. Washington Sundar, who has been in excellent form lately, could be included as the third spin option, despite the fact that his batting inspires less confidence than Axar's.

Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah (pending his fitness status) are two of India's most important bowlers in ODIs and walk into the XI. Mohammed Shami hasn't played top-level cricket in a while and might not be at the necessary level yet. Arshdeep Singh might thus be a better option at this point in time, with his ability to swing the new ball.