KL Rahul OUT, Rishabh Pant IN; 2 Changes: India Predicted Playing XI For Champions Trophy 2025 Final

India qualified for the final of the Champions Trophy 2025, as they defeated Australia in the\emi-final on Tuesday (March 4) at the Dubai International Stadium. They will now take on the winner of the second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand in the final of the mega ICC event on March 9 (Sunday) in Dubai. India would aim to win their record third Champions Trophy win, and for that they need to field a strong playing XI.

India might take a punt on Rishabh Pant in the final. Even though KL Rahul played a brilliant knock of 42 from 36 balls in the semi-final to take India past the finish line, his wicketkeeping has not been up to the mark. Hence, India might bring Rishabh Pant in the final, not only to get a better wicketkeeper in, but also to provide another left-hander in the top 6.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will continue to open the batting, with the in-form Virat Kohli coming in at no.3. Shreyas Iyer will bat at no.4, with Risabh Pant, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya acting as floaters. All three can come to bat at any time depending on the situation. Ravindra Jadeja will bat at no.8.

India might revert back to three spinners and two pacers, especially since the pitch looked much better for batting in the semi-final. In that case, India might rest Kuldeep Yadav, who has not looked in the best of form. They might bring back Harshit Rana, who will team up with Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya in the pace department. Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja will complete the spin-bowling trio.

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy

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