"For me, Shami is not a starter" - Sanjay Bangar picks India's playing XI for 2025 Champions Trophy opener

Former batting coach Sanjay Bangar has picked his preferred Indian playing XI for their 2025 Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh. He chose Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, if both are fit and available, as his first two seamers, with Mohammed Shami being the backup.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to start on February 19, with the Men in Blue facing the Bangla Tigers in Dubai in their first game a day later. The selectors recently picked a 15-member Indian squad for the prestigious event.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Bangar was asked to pick his playing XI for India's clash against Bangladesh.

"You eliminate one of the fast bowlers. If Arshdeep and Bumrah are both available, then you can afford to leave out somebody like a Shami. So for me, Shami is not a starter," he responded.

The former India all-rounder opined that either Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel, along with Rishabh Pant, won't be part of the XI.

"Then one between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel and one reserve wicketkeeper. So in this case, Rishabh Pant may be on the benches," Bangar observed.

Bangar concluded by naming his preferred starting XI.

"My XI would be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh," he said.

Ravindra Jadeja was picked ahead of Axar Patel as the left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder. Along with Mohammed Shami and Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the other player not chosen in the XI.

---

"He has played across three formats for his domestic team" - Sanjay Bangar on Mohammed Shami proving his fitness

Mohammed Shami hasn't played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final. [P/C: Getty]

In the same interaction, Sanjay Bangar was asked about the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar seemingly being convinced about Mohammed Shami's fitness.

"The bowling looks really, really good with Shami back and Kuldeep back. Shami, for all you know, was working from one format to the other format, wherein he has played across three formats for his domestic team," he replied.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Shami should be part of India's playing XI for most games against England.

"So it is a clear indication that, over a period of time, he has gained fitness and is ready to bowl the number of overs that are required to be bowled with high intensity. So he should be playing most of the games right from the first game against England, and the more games that he plays, the better he gets, because that's what history suggests about Mohammed Shami," Bangar reasoned.

Mohammed Shami has represented Bengal in the Ranji, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare tournaments over the last few months. He is likely to feature in India's playing XI in both white-ball formats against England, especially with Jasprit Bumrah not being part of the T20I squad and his potential unavailability for the ODIs as well.