Captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar during a press conference to announce the ODI squad for England and Champions Trophy at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on January 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
Despite concerns over his fitness, Jasprit Bumrah – the backbone of India’s bowling – was on Saturday (January 18, 2025) included in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy, starting on February 19. While Yashasvi Jaiswal has earned a maiden ODI call-up, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav – bowlers who are also on a comeback trail following injury layoffs – have also been selected in the Rohit Sharma-led squad.
The team was picked by the selection committee, chaired by Ajit Agarkar, in the presence of captain Rohit Sharma at the BCCI headquarters here. After a long meeting that lasted well over two hours, Agarkar announced the squad and said that Harshit Rana will be the additional player for the ODI series against England with Bumrah unlikely to be available at least for the first two ODIs.
“With Bumrah, we are waiting to hear about his fitness and when he is likely to be available. At the moment I don’t think he is likely to be fit for the first couple of games,” Agarkar said in a media interaction, hoping that Bumrah will be fit in time.
“I know he was asked to offload for five weeks of bowling, which is early first week February, if I am not wrong. And we’ll probably find out a bit more around that time what exactly and with regards to what his medical condition is. I am sure BCCI might just put something out from the physio itself. It’s better it comes from the medical department than me trying to explain what exactly is wrong with him. But that’s the time frame that we have been told. And hopefully, he is okay after that.”
Match-fit?
Ever since he walked off the field on day two of the Sydney Test on January 4 due to a back injury, Bumrah has been advised rest. It will be interesting to see if he is match fit in the 10-day window after his rest and recovery period gets over on February 8.
No place for Siraj
The Hindu understands that Nitish Reddy and Shivam Dube’s names were discussed as possible back-ups for all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who returned to the ODI set-up since the 2023 ODI World Cup. Kuldeep’s return following a hernia surgery and Ravindra Jadeja’s inclusion as the last name on the team sheet instead of Mohammed Siraj, a pacer, meant the selectors have preferred only three genuine pacers and four spinners in the squad.
Meanwhile, Jaiswal, India’s standout player in 2024, has been handed a maiden ODI call-up as a reserve opener. Rohit referred to his selection over his “potential.”
The squad: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Shubman Gill (Vice-capt.), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya,Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja. (Harshit Rana to be the additional player for the three ODIs against England.)
Published – January 18, 2025 03:03 pm IST
