"The ILT20 was heavily dominated by the fast bowlers" - Aakash Chopra on India's weaknesses ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked the Men in Blue's reliance on their spinners as one of their weaknesses heading into the 2025 Champions Trophy. He pointed out that seamers were more successful than spinners in Dubai in the recently concluded International League T20 (ILT20).

The 2025 Champions Trophy will be played in three cities in Pakistan and Dubai in the UAE from February 19 onwards. India are placed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand and will play all their matches in Dubai.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the cricketer-turned-analyst opined that the presence of five spinners in India's squad for the ICC event is a potential weakness.

"When the moon has spots on it, we too will have some weaknesses. The biggest concern I am seeing is that we have picked five spinners. If we see the numbers only in Dubai, the ILT20 was heavily dominated by the fast bowlers. 70 percent of the wickets were taken by the fast bowlers and we are taking five spinners," he said (5:10).

Chopra pointed out that the conditions in Dubai won't suit the spinners.

"We are also going to play three spinners in the playing XI. So if we are going to play three and have five spinners in our squad, that cannot be our strength because the conditions are going to be different. The square is extremely hard and has a little grass on it," he observed.

Aakash Chopra highlighted that the curator won't prepare a pitch to India's liking as it is an ICC event, with Pakistan as the host nation. He added that the ball will likely swing more than turn in the slightly cool conditions in February.

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"Arshdeep played an ODI just now and in August before that" - Aakash Chopra on India's seam-bowling weakness heading into 2025 Champions Trophy

Arshdeep Singh has represented India in only nine ODIs. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra chose India's fast-bowling lineup, which includes the relatively inexperienced Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, as another of their weaknesses heading into the 2025 Champions Trophy.

"The fast bowling is also slightly weak. Arshdeep played an ODI just now and in August before that. He has an overall experience of less than 10 ODIs. Harshit Rana has experience of two or three ODIs," he said (6:25).

The former India opener added that Mohammed Shami is not yet back to his best, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj not part of the squad.

"Mohammed Shami has returned but he is not looking the same bowler. Understandably, Bumrah is not there but Siraj is also not there. So suddenly your fast bowling, which could have been better on these pitches, is also looking slightly weak," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Rohit Sharma smashed a century and Virat Kohli scored a half-century in the recent ODI series against England. However, he opined that the two stalwarts are not yet in full rhythm, calling it another concern for India ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy.