BCCI confirms announcement date of India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad; Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar to address press conference

Team India's much-awaited squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy will be announced on Saturday, January 18. Along with it, the squad for the Men in Blue squad for the three-match ODI series against England will also be named.

On Friday, January 17, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said, in an official statement, that the squad announcement for the Champions Trophy and the ODIs against England will be made on January 18. India captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will also address a press conference in Mumbai, which gets underway at 12:30 PM after the squad announcement.

"The Men's Selection Committee will select India's squad for the IDFC First Bank ODI series against England and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tomorrow in Mumbai. The Selection Meeting will be followed by a press conference, details of which are under," the official BCCI statement read (as quoted by NDTV).

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had set January 12 as the deadline for all eight participating teams to name their provisional squads for the 2025 Champions Trophy. However, India have delayed announcing their team reportedly due to fitness concerns over lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

India went down to Australia 3-1 in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) that concluded in Sydney earlier this month. Before that, they were thumped 3-0 at home by New Zealand in a Test series. In recent days, several controversies have emerged in Indian cricket, with reports claiming that all was not well in the Indian camp during the Test tour of Australia.

Following the BGT debacle, the BCCI has reportedly come up with strict player guidelines to promote unity and foster a positive team environment. As per the modified rules, players will need to feature in domestic cricket to be eligible for national selection and central contract. Also, restrictions have been placed on the presence of families and personal staff on tours.

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India will face England in a white-ball series before 2025 Champions Trophy

Before the 2025 Champions Trophy, the Men in Blue will take on England at home in five T20Is and three ODIs. The T20Is will be played from January 22 to February 2, while the ODIs will be held from February 6 to February 12.

The BCCI had announced the team for the T20Is last week. Pacer Mohammed Shami is set to make his international comeback, while all-rounder Axar Patel has been elevated to vice-captain.

India will begin their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign with a match against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20 and then face Pakistan at the same venue on February 23. India's last group match will also be played in Dubai against New Zealand on March 2.