India begins its ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh with Shubman Gill named vice-captain, a decision skipper Rohit Sharma defended citing Gill’s “crazy” ODI numbers.
🔑 Rohit on Gill:
“Gill is a classy player. His numbers in ODIs are crazy, and we have no doubt about his ability in this format. Hopefully, he has a great tournament that helps us.”
📊 Gill’s International Stats:
- 🏏 ODIs: 2,587 runs in 50 matches | Avg: 60.16 | 7 100s | Best: 208
- 🏏 Tests: 1,893 runs in 32 matches | Avg: 35.05 | 5 100s
- 🏏 T20Is: 578 runs in 21 matches | Avg: 30.42 | SR: 139.27
🚨 India’s Champions Trophy 2025 Fixtures (Dubai):
BD vs IN – Feb 19 | PAK vs IN – Feb 23 | NZ vs IN – Mar 2
💬 On Team Composition:
✅ Five spinners selected:
- Frontline: Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
- All-rounders: Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar
“We wanted players with two skills. The three all-rounders give us versatility.” – Rohit Sharma
💥 Key Squad Notes:
- ❌ Jasprit Bumrah ruled out (lower back injury); replaced by Harshit Rana.
- 🌀 Varun Chakravarthy drafted in after strong T20I performances vs England.
- 🚫 Yashasvi Jaiswal moved to non-travelling reserves after disappointing ODI debut.
🏟️ Rohit on Dubai Conditions:
“Adapting quickly is crucial. We’ve ticked boxes in recent series—bowling teams out cheaply and scoring over 350 runs.”
🔥 India’s Squad:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy.
🚪 Non-travelling reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, Shivam Dube.
💬 Rohit on facing net bowlers:
“They were quality pacers, one from Pakistan origin and another from Afghanistan. Had a good chat with them.”
🏏 India’s Mission:
✅ Adapt to Dubai conditions.
✅ Start strong against Bangladesh.
✅ Gear up for the high-voltage clash vs Pakistan on Feb 23.