"You will create some communication gap" - India legend's stern message to Men in Blue amid experimentations ahead of Champions Trophy 2025

Former India left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan advised the Men in Blue management to ensure all players are aware of what the team wants to achieve amid their experimentations ahead of Champions Trophy 2025. Zaheer warned the team that things could go wrong if everyone in the dressing room is not on the same page.

Team India have experimented with a few things in the ongoing ODI series against England. Yashasvi Jaiswal was handed his debut in the opening match in Nagpur. While Virat Kohli was injured for the game, Shreyas Iyer revealed that Jaiswal would have played ahead of him even if the former India captain was fit.

On Sunday, February 9, India rested left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav after just one game in the series and handed a debut to leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Also, Harshit Rana has been preferred over Arshdeep Singh in both the one-dayers so far. During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Zaheer shared his thoughts on the constant changes in the Indian team and commented:

"It's absolutely fine to try out. They are fully entitled to do what they really feel as tactics. But, in the process, you can't ignore certain things. There are terms and conditions which apply with addressing certain plans. As long as you are ticking those boxes, you will stay on track. You will not go off the track. You will not see the downside of things. That is very important for them to know.

The 46-year-old urged the Indian think tank to ensure that there is no communication gap in the team as that could prove detrimental going forward. The former India fast bowler explained:

"From the outside, we can only do guesswork and try and put logic to the thinking. But when it comes to being part of the dressing room, if you are the stakeholder, you should be able to tick all those boxes to make sure everyone knows what we are trying to achieve. You will create some communication gap at some stage. If you are missing a piece, it will catch up at some stage."

India also tweaked their batting order slightly in the first two one-dayers against England. In both matches, all-rounder Axar Patel batted ahead of frontline batter KL Rahul as the Men in Blue wanted to have a left-right combination in the middle.

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India are 2-0 up in the 3-match series against England

Despite experimenting with their squad, India have managed to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. On Sunday, the Men in Blue beat England by four wickets in Cuttack in the second one-dayer.

Batting first, England posted 304 despite Ravindra Jadeja's 3-35. Team India, however, went past the total in 44.3 overs as skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front with 119 off 90 balls.