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The BCCI released India's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on January 18. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma announced the squad at a press conference.
While most of the players picked were expected to be there, the selection committee also made a couple of surprise picks like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Arshdeep Singh. Former world number one ODI bowler Mohammed Siraj was the biggest name missing from the squad. Here is the full 15-man team:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Ravindra Jadeja Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli.
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Cricket fans and experts from across the world had different reactions to India's 15-man squad for Champions Trophy 2025. Here are some of the top comments:
#1 Yograj Singh praises BCCI for backing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
Former Indian cricketer Yograj Singh showered praise on BCCI and the selection committee for backing senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In Yograj's view, the team would have fallen apart had the selectors ignored the two senior players after their disappointing show in Test cricket.
"I have always felt that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should not be dropped. If you drop them, then your team will fall apart. We may have lost in Australia, but we should not forget that we have beaten them in two series too," Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.
The former Indian cricketer concluded by mentioning that he expected Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill to be dropped but was pleased to see them getting one more chance.
#2 Brad Hogg jokes MS Dhoni played a role in Sanju Samson's non-selection
Sanju Samson was in phenomenal touch in white-ball cricket for India last year. Many fans expected him to be in the Indian squad as a backup wicketkeeper for the Champions Trophy 2025. However, the selectors did not pick him.
Reacting to his non-selection, former Australian spinner Brad Hogg cheekily commented on X:
“Sanju Samson is not picked because probably MS Dhoni had a bit of a say. A little bit of a cheeky there but this a good squad."
Hogg also touched on Karun Nair's exclusion. The Vidarbha skipper was in sublime touch during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but Hogg felt his strike rate was too low.
#3 Aakash Chopra comments on Sanju Samson's exclusion from Champions Trophy 2025 squad
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra also shared his views on Sanju Samson's absence from the squad. In Chopra's opinion, Samson did not make it to the squad because he did not feature for Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
"These are good numbers (Samson's ODI stats) but the last match was in December 2023 against South Africa in Paarl. He didn't play in the Hazare Trophy this year. There was a lot of discussion that he should have gone for the camp. Not playing the Vijay Hazare has obviously gone against him," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra read out Samson's stats, pointing out how he has a century and three fifties in 14 ODI innings. He even highlighted how Samson scored a century against South Africa away from home in 2023.
#4 Sunil Gavaskar explains why Karun Nair did not make Champions Trophy 2025 squad
Karun Nair had a dream season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he averaged more than 750 at one point. He smashed five centuries in the 50-over tournament. Still, he could not break into India's squad for Champions Trophy 2025.
Former Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar commented on Karun's exclusion and said on Sports Tak:
“Where should they fit him? You could have taken the spot of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. KL will perform the role of second wicketkeeper-batter for this team, and his performance during the 2023 World Cup was good. I don’t think the Indian cricket team has played much ODI cricket after that. Shreyas Iyer has also performed well in the format. That is why Karun Nair has not been picked."
It is pertinent to note that India played only three ODI matches in 2024. Thus, dropping any player ahead of such a marquee event like the Champions Trophy did not make much sense.
#5 Ravichandran Ashwin shares his thoughts on 'vice-captain' Shubman Gill in Champions Trophy
Another interesting development from the press conference was Shubman Gill being named as the vice-captain of India's squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin felt that Gill got the deputy skipper's role because he can be a future leader and also has a confirmed place in the XI.
"There’s stiff competition between Axar and Jadeja that which one out of the two will play in the XI. If we look at Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, the latter is an incumbency keeper. There could be a possibility that both Pant and Rahul play but they’ve given the vice-captaincy to the player whose place in the playing XI is confirmed," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
This will be Shubman Gill's first major tournament as India's vice-captain. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his new role.
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