Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah OUT; KL Rahul IN: India's Strongest XI For ICC Champions Trophy (Source: AP)
The India squad for the ICC Champions Trophy is yet to be announced. It was set to be revealed before the January 12 deadline to submit the squads, but the BCCI delayed it by a week. The squad is likely to be announced on January 17. The selectors have a lot of questions to answer before naming the squad. The biggest concern for them is the injury of Jasprit Bumrah. The ace India pacer picked up a back injury during the fifth Test vs India. Bumrah is doubtful for the mega event. Given how critical Bumrah is for India, especially in Test cricket, he is unlikely to be risked unless he is 100 percent fit. India can make for Bumrah with Mohammed Shami, who was picked in the India T20I squad for the England series and is almost certain to be picked in the Champions Trophy squad.
Another dilemma for the selectors will be to pick Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson as the primary wicketkeeper batter. While Samson has done well for India, Rishabh Pant is leading the race to grab the role. Yashasvi Jaiswal could also be picked in the squad. Shubman Gill has struggled in recent times and there are high odds that Jaiswal could make his ODI debut in the Champions Trophy.
Axar Patel is almost a certainty to the squad, with Ravindra Jadeja unlikely to get picked. The snub could mark the end of Jadeja's ODI career. It will also be a toss-up between Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav for the middle-order batter position and Iyer should get a nod ahead of Yadav, who hasn't been great in limited ODIs he has played. Varun Chakravarthy is yet to make his ODI debut but given his form and injury concerns with Kuldeep Yadav, he could lead India's spin attack in Champions Trophy.
The Indian team could also name Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain of the team. Hardik was set to lead the T20I team but he was snubbed for Samson, however, the all-rounder could be handed the ODI deputyship for an important event like Champions Trophy.
India's Likely XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
India's Likely Squad For ICC Champions Trophy: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar
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