The ex-captain and opening batter of India, Sunil Gavaskar, has partnered with the former all-rounder of the side, Irfan Pathan, to pick their squad of the blue brigade for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, where the Rohit Sharma-led side will play all of their games at the Dubai International Stadium in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The preparation will start with a three-match home series against England.
Both of them reckoned that India should keep Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul, the two wicketkeepers, in the squad. Instead, they have gone with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit, and Virat Kohli in the top order, keeping the young sensational Shubman Gill as the backup opener. Pathan favored slotting Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the middle order.
“If I am sitting there, I will say who has done well recently. 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 back these two guys to be there in the Champions Trophy.” Pathan expressed this during the ‘Game Plan’ show on Star Sports.
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Rahul handled the wicket-keeping job during the 2023 ODI World Cup in Pant’s absence and smashed 452 runs at a strike rate of 90.76, while 530 runs at a strike rate of 113.24 came from Iyer’s bat. Gavaskar has kept Sanju Samson as the backup wicket-keeper and middle-order batter for the global event.
“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 leader of the national side explained.
Suryakumar Yadav, the current captain of India’s T20I side, doesn’t have a great record in the ODI format, with just 773 runs at an average of 25.76 and a strike rate of 105. Gavaskar highlighted that these numbers are not as promising as his T20I numbers, and the unconventional batter should keep on playing the shortest format of the game.
The Mumbai batter suggested Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja at number seven and eight, respectively, as Pathan agreed to the suggestion by remarking how much balance it would bring for India, who could look to keep Nitish 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.” Pathan discussed this on Star Sports.
There is no update on the premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, after the end of the five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Kuldeep Yadav is also recovering from his surgery. Mohammad Shami has been picked for the T20I series at home against England, but questions remain if he will be back for India in the 50-over format.
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Both Pathan and Gavaskar have included these three bowlers as backup fast bowlers alongside Mohammad Siraj or Arshdeep Singh.
“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.” The T20 World Cup-winning member for India elaborated.
India’s Squad For Champions Trophy 2025 By Sunil Gavaskar And Irfan Pathan
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammad Siraj/ Arshdeep Singh.