"Jaddu hasn't taken too many wickets" - Aakash Chopra on potential changes in India's playing 11 for IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Former India player Aakash Chopra has urged the Men in Blue to stick with the same playing XI for their 2025 Champions Trophy clash against New Zealand. He pointed out that Ravindra Jadeja, a player who could potentially be rested, didn't pick up a lot of wickets in India's first two games.

India will face New Zealand in their final 2025 Champions Trophy Group A game on Sunday, March 2. With both teams having already qualified for the semi-finals, the result of the match will decide the group topper.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener opined that Rohit Sharma and company should persist with the same playing combination, including retaining Jadeja in the XI.

"Can some changes be done for the New Zealand match? Can the Indian XI look different? Is that a possibility? Times Sports have reported that Rohit (Sharma) might not play, (Mohammed) Shami might not play, (KL) Rahul might open, and (Rishabh) Pant and Arshdeep (Singh) might get a chance to play," he said (7:40).

"Then you start wondering whether changes are required. Winning is a habit. So you try to continue doing that for as long as you can. If you have won five consecutive ODIs, carry on. Jaddu hasn't taken too many wickets thus far in the Champions Trophy. So I will stay with him," Chopra added.

While acknowledging that Varun Chakaravarthy and Washington Sundar are enticing spin-bowling options, Chopra reckoned that Jadeja will have to be persisted with.

"There would be a temptation to play Varun but you won't be able to. There might be a temptation to play Washington Sundar because the opposition has so many left-handers. So you will wish to play him but how will you play him? Jaddu will have to be played as he has to play the semis," he elaborated.

Ravindra Jadeja went wicketless and conceded 37 runs in nine overs in India's 2025 Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder registered figures of 1/40 in seven overs against Pakistan and didn't get to bat in both games.

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"You can make him sit out and play Arshdeep if you want" - Aakash Chopra on Mohammed Shami ahead of IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Mohammed Shami was troubled by a calf issue during India's 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra reckoned that India could consider replacing Mohammed Shami with Arshdeep Singh as there is only a day's gap between the game against New Zealand and their 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final.

"I can understand about Shami. You can make him sit out and play Arshdeep if you want. However, there is a seven-day gap (between the Pakistan and New Zealand games). The only thing is that you have to play on the 4th again after the 2nd," he said (8:55).

However, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that India shouldn't consider any other changes if all players are fit and available.

"That could be a problem for sure as you might say that Shami can't turn around that quickly and so you want to play Arshdeep in this match. However, nothing else apart from that. I don't agree with anything apart from Shami unless, of course, there is an injury issue. Otherwise, stick to the same team," Chopra observed.

Mohammed Shami registered figures of 5/53 in 10 overs in India's 2025 Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh. However, he went wicketless while conceding 43 runs in eight overs against Pakistan and left the field for a while after his initial spell due to a calf issue.