Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan pick India's squad for Champions Trophy 2025, include both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the playing XI

Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan have picked India's squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. The duo reckoned that both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant should be a part of the Men in Blue's playing XI.

The upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 onwards. Before the prestigious event, India will face England in a three-match ODI series at home.

On the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Gavaskar and Pathan chose Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli as India's top three, with Shubman Gill as the backup opener. Pathan also opined that Rahul and Shreyas Iyer should be a part of the middle order.

"If I am sitting there I will say who has done really well in the recent past. KL Rahul had a fantastic 50-over World Cup. Shreyas Iyer - the kind of ODI World Cup he had, I think he needed some backing. In the last few months, he has not got that backing. I will definitely back these two guys to be there in the Champions Trophy," he said.

The duo picked Shreyas, Rahul and Pant at Nos. 4 to 6, with Gavaskar suggesting that Sanju Samson has to be the backup keeper and middle-order batter.

"No. 4 for me will be Shreyas Iyer. No. 5 will be KL Rahul and No. 6 will be Rishabh Pant. Sanju Samson, with the hundreds he has scored, has to be in the squad because he has scored hundreds for India. How can you ignore somebody who is scoring hundreds for his country?" the former India captain observed.

Gavaskar noted that Suryakumar Yadav doesn't merit a place as his ODI record is not as good as his T20I record. He added that the unconventional batter is made for the shortest format, although he has even played Test cricket.

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"This is as good a batting lineup as you will see" - Irfan Pathan on having Hardik Pandya at No. 7 and Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8

Hardik Pandya (right) and Ravindra Jadeja were part of India's 2017 Champions Trophy squad. [P/C: Getty]

After Sunil Gavaskar suggested Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja's names at Nos. 7 and 8, Irfan Pathan concurred with him that it would give India the requisite balance, with Nitish Kumar Reddy as the backup all-rounder.

"If you have this kind of balance, you will have Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8 and then obviously you have batting and bowling options. This is as good a batting lineup as you will see. Having a fast-bowling all-rounder as your backup is a wonderful option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is on a high also. Not easy to perform in Australia, he has done that," the former India all-rounder said in the same discussion.

With the duo choosing Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah as the three specialist bowlers in the playing XI, Pathan picked Mohammed Siraj as the backup seamer.

"Mohammed Siraj will be the third one, not in the playing XI if Bumrah and Shami are available but we have got to see what happens with Bumrah going forward. We hope that the injury is not that severe," he observed.

Gavaskar named Arshdeep Singh as the backup seamer if either Bumrah or Shami isn't available.

Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan's Indian squad for Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj, Nitish Kumar Reddy