Punjab Kings’ pacer Marco Jansen’s bowling has lacked bite this season.
| Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY

New Zealand players celebrate the wicket of Virat Kohli during the third and final ODI Match at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on January 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

India, the finalists of the 2023 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and winners of last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will look to make an impact in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy from the word go by getting one over Bangladesh in their tournament opener. The side are no strangers to success in the global event, having previously secured CT title wins in 2002 (co-winners with Sri Lanka) and 2013, as per a press release from ICC.

But this time around, Rohit Sharma’s side will be without their finest bowling asset and the ‘National Treasure’ as dubbed by batter Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and have banked on a spin-heavy setup to get the job done for them in the tournament.

Their opponents first up are also good exponents of spin and have the capacity to dish out a surprise in big events. The Tigers will take inspiration from their 2007 50-over World Cup heroics against India and will back their experienced players to come good on Thursday.

*Recent form:

India: The tournament fancies enter the Champions Trophy in fine touch, after a wildly successful recent white-ball run against England. Hosts India clean-swept the visitors 3-0 in the ODI series that recently ended.

Before that, India handled England comfortably in the pair’s five-game T20I series, winning 4-1. Those seven wins, all in the last month, should give the squad confidence.

Bangladesh: Reading the form is not as straightforward with the Tigers. The national side had not played any cricket since December, when they toured the West Indies.

Bangladesh were comprehensively beaten in the three-match ODI series with the Windies, losing 3-0. They saved face somewhat by claiming all three T20Is in the Caribbean that followed the One-Day International cricket. In November, before they toured the West Indies, Bangladesh went down 2-1 to Afghanistan in an ODI series in the UAE.

Players in focus:

India: Arshdeep Singh

With Jasprit Bumrah unavailable for India, there will be an added spotlight on the team’s bowling attack. But heading into the tournament, there is optimism that 26-year-old left-armer Arshdeep Singh can handle new ball duties and potentially step into the incredibly large shoes left by Jasprit, who is recovering from a back injury. In nine ODIs of his career, he has taken 14 wickets at an average of 23.00.

Bangladesh: Mehidy Hasan Miraz

The 27-year-old all-rounder is at the peak of his powers and will need to deliver in all departments for the Tigers to make a dent at the Champions Trophy. From the aforementioned West Indies tour in December, Mehidy Hasan Miraz smoked 152 runs across three ODIs with an average of 50.66, striking at 84.91. He also claimed eight combined wickets across the T20I series in the Caribbean.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Bangladesh: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, MD Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.

Cricketer Arshdeep Singh. File photo
| Photo Credit: RAGU R

Harshit Rana has been the flavour of the season as far as India’s emerging crop of fast bowlers is concerned but one of head coach Gautam Gambhir’s finds is unlikely to start in India’s playing eleven in the Champions Trophy with Arshdeep Singh still considered way ahead in terms of talent and quality.

The Indian team management gave Harshit all three ODIs against England, and if one is absolutely fair to the burly 6-feet-2-inch tall Delhi speedster, he has not looked out of place.

While Arshdeep enjoys a better economy rate of 5.17 compared to Harshit’s 6.95 per over, it is the former’s ability to bring the ball back into the right-handers during the Powerplay overs that will tilt the scales in his favour in the tournament starting February 19.

Arshdeep, who also has only nine ODIs since he made his debut in a short ODI series in New Zealand in 2022, will be ahead on most counts when one looks at the parameters that would be taken into account based on the conditions available at the Dubai International Stadium.

“Harshit has improved by leaps and bounds in terms of reducing his weight and has become sharper in terms of speed. But if I had to choose one among the two as Mohammed Shami’s partner, it has to be Arshdeep as he can swing the ball both ways and is a left-armer.

“I would be a trifle surprised if Harshit starts ahead of Arshdeep,” former national selector Devang Gandhi, who has also seen Rana from close quarters as Delhi Ranji coach, told PTI.

India will start with a clash against Bangladesh on February 20 here.

It is understood that Harshit started in all three games against England because the team management, currently helmed by Gautam Gambhir, wanted to check out if his protege could be considered as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement, and also this was the only series where Shami’s fitness could also have been tested in real terms.

Hence, Arshdeep was rested in the first two games and only got a chance when the think-tank decided to rest Shami, who had played back to back ODIs.

Former India opener WV Raman, one of the most respected coaches in the country, feels experience will be a key factor which should go in favour of the Punjab pacer.

“Arshdeep, due to his relative experience and the left arm being a different dimension, has an advantage. The Dubai track will be decent for the pacers,” Raman observed.

He also raised a key point about playing multi-nation event compared to bilateral series.

“A bit more experience always helps in ICC events, which is a different ball game from bilaterals. In ICC event, you will play different opposition every day and accordingly an experienced bowler changes his plans,” said Raman, who has also been India U-19 batting coach and head coach of the national women’s team.

Gandhi, on his part, also pointed out the options Arshdeep brings to the table in various phases of the match.

“Harshit hits deck and gets it to move a bit both ways after pitching along with those effective occasional heavy balls in the range of mid 140s. But when you have Arshdeep, he can swing the new ball and also use angles of the crease effectively when he comes round the wicket during death overs,” he explained.

An NCA Level 2 coach, who had watched the India U-19 team play in Dubai during the Asia Cup, had observed that there is at least five to six inches more bounce on offer at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

“If you have that shade extra bounce for a swing bowler then playing Arshdeep is a no-brainer. Harshit is a good talent but if Shami is fit, then Arshdeep, for variation, experience and game awareness partners him,” the former NCA coach said.

Punjab Kings Schedule IPL 2025: Punjab Kings (PBKS) entered the Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction with the highest purse and have made some significant purchases heading into the new season. Shreyas Iyer, who won the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last year, will be leading PBKS this year after being bought for Rs 26.75 crore in the mega auction. Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh were the other big Indian buys, while the purchases of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Marco Jansen add explosive overseas firepower. Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh were retained by the franchise.

Here is Punjab Kings’ IPL 2025 schedule in full:

25 March: GT vs PBKS – Ahmedabad – 7:30 PM IST

1 April: LSG vs PBKS – Lucknow – 7:30 PM IST

5 April: PBKS vs RR – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

8 April: PBKS vs CSK – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

12 April: SRH vs PBKS – Hyderabad – 7:30 PM IST

15 April: PBKS vs KKR – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

18 April: RCB vs PBKS – Bengaluru – 7:30 PM IST

20 April: PBKS vs RCB – New Chandigarh – 3:30 PM IST

26 April: KKR vs PBKS – Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST

30 April: CSK vs PBKS – Chennai – 7:30 PM IST

4 May: PBKS vs LSG – Dharamshala – 7:30 PM IST

8 May: PBKS vs DC – Dharamshala – 7:30 PM IST

11 May: PBKS vs MI – Dharamshala – 3:30 PM IST

16 May: RR vs PBKS – Jaipur – 7:30 PM IST

PBKS IPL 2025 Squad: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh (Rs. 18 crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs. 26.75 crore), Yuzvendra Chahal (Rs. 18 crore), Marcus Stoinis (Rs. 11 crore), Glenn Maxwell (Rs. 4.20 crore), Nehal Wadhera (Rs. 4.20 crore), Harpreet Brar (Rs. 1.50 crore), Vishnu Vinod (Rs. 95 lakh), Vijaykumar Vyshak (Rs. 1.80 crore), Yash Thakur (Rs. 1.60 crore), Marco Jansen (Rs. 7 crore), Josh Inglis (Rs. 2.60 crore), Lockie Ferguson (Rs. 2 crore), Azmatullah Omarzai (Rs. 2.40 crore), Harnoor Pannu (Rs. 30 lakh), Kuldeep Sen (Rs. 80 lakh), Priyansh Arya (Rs. 3.80 crore), Aaron Hardie (Rs. 1.25 crore), Musheer Khan (Rs. 30 lakh), Suryansh Shedge (Rs. 30 lakh), Xavier Bartlett (Rs. 80 lakh), Pyla Avinash (Rs. 30 lakh), Pravin Dubey (Rs. 30 lakh).

India captain Rohit Sharma expressed satisfaction after pacer Arshdeep Singh executed his plans to perfection in the third and final ODI against England in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The incident happened after the second ball of the seventh over of England’s innings, with Arshdeep handing India a timely breakthrough with the dismissal of Ben Duckett. During Arshdeep’s previous over, Duckett smashed the pacer for four straight boundaries. However, as Duckett was starting to look dangerous, Arsdeep got rid off him in his next over.

Duckett, who was struggling with a groind problem, was unable to pick Arshdeep’s knuckle ball, mistiming his pull due to restricted foot movement. Rohit, stationed at mid-off, positioned himself perfectly under the ball and made no mistake. After taking the catch, Rohit did a brain-tap gesture, pointing out that Arshdeep’s plan worked just as he wanted to.

Rohit’s brilliance Duckett gone! #INDvsENG

pic.twitter.com/Wv1jJtMreX

— Over and out (@Over_and_out1) February 12, 2025

Arshdeep then also dismissed the other England opener, Phil Salt, who was caught at short third by Axar Patel.

Double-strike for Arshdeep Singh

And a successful powerplay for #TeamIndia

Follow The Match https://t.co/RDhJXhAI0N#INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @arshdeepsinghh pic.twitter.com/F1lf3ur7yz

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 12, 2025

Earlier, Shubman Gill kept up his good form to hit 112 and help India reach 356 all out, their highest-ever total at the Narendra Modi Stadium. 

Gill put on 116 runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli, who hit 52, laying the foundation for a challenging total after they were put in to bat first in Ahmedabad.

Shreyas Iyer also hit a 64-ball 78 as England’s bowlers struggled, apart from leg-spinner Adil Rashid‘s impressive 4-64.

Skipper Rohit Sharma departed for one, caught behind off Mark Wood in a disappointing outing after his 119 in the previous match gave India an unbeatable 2-0 series lead.

Gill, who took back the opening spot from Yashasvi Jaiswal, raised his third successive fifty after scores of 87 and 60 in the first two wins.

Kohli reached a run-a-ball fifty to get back among the runs after an inconsistent Test series in Australia.

Rashid got Kohli with a delivery that pitched in the middle and spun sharply to take the bat’s edge and land in the gloves of wicketkeeper Phil Salt.

Kohli was dismissed by Rashid in Cuttack and his latest dismissal was the fifth time he fell to the leg-spinner in 10 meetings.

Gill, who leads the series batting with 259 runs, kept up the pace and put on 104 runs with Iyer before he was bowled off a googly by Rashid.

(With AFP Inputs)

India vs England LIVE Streaming, 3rd T20I: When And Where To Watch© BCCI

Following his match-winning knock against England in the second T20I, Indian batter Tilak Varma revealed his strategy while batting with tailenders to chase the remaining 40 runs of the 166-run target and lauded spinner Ravi Bishnoi for his brief cameo of nine runs in five balls, which included two fours.

In one of the best knocks in a T20I run chase by an Indian batter in recent memory, Tilak batted well with tailenders to chase 40 runs out of the 166-run target with immense game awareness and tactical intelligence, helping India secure a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. From 126/7, India sailed to a win with Arshdeep Singh (4) and Ravi (9*) each contributing a partnership of 20 runs.

Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live Show after the game, Tilak said of his strategy during the final few overs, “Actually, I was under a lot of pressure.

Arshdeep was saying, ‘I will hit it. I will hit it. I have to give a single.’ So, I thought, on this wicket, (Jofra) Archer can’t get you out. On this wicket, Adil Rashid will because his ball was moving a lot. I knew that Arshdeep would try to hit the spinner. I said, ‘No, bhai‘,” Tilak revealed.

“If Arshdeep wanted to play, he should play Archer. He said he would not play Archer, so I said, ‘Okay, I will play.’ I told him to be ready with his defence. ‘Whether you get a bouncer or not, you just have to stop him. If you see him behind, bend down.’ So, I do not know what he did. He said, ‘If I get a bouncer, I will hit him from above.’ He said a lot of things. But whatever happened, I am happy that he got a boundary off Archer.

“And the best thing to see was Ravi Bishnoi’s batting. He has done a very good job in nets. He and Varun Chakravarthy did a very good job in batting. I had a lot of faith in both of them that they could play. I told them, ‘If you want to hit, you have to hit in the gaps. If you get a single, there is no problem. If you want to bend down on the bouncer, you have to play like Test cricket.’ So, actually, Ravi Bishnoi played well. If you see, he hit a flick from the front. A lot of credit goes to him too. Those two fours were very important,” he added.

Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to bat first. Barring skipper Jos Buttler (45 in 30 balls, with two fours and three sixes), the England top order once again was struggling against spin. A couple of useful cameos from Brydon Carse (31 in 17 balls, with a four and three sixes) and wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith (22 in 12 balls, with a four and two sixes) took England to 165/9 in their 20 overs.

Axar Patel (2/32) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/38) caused England the most trouble.

In the run-chase, India suffered setbacks in the first half, as Abhishek Sharma (12), Sanju Samson (4), skipper Suryakumar Yadav (12), Dhruv Jurel (4) and Hardik Pandya (7) perished one by one. Tilak got assistance from Washington Sundar (26 in 19 balls, with three fours and a six), a 38-run partnership that let India cross the 100-run mark from a poor situation of 78/5. After Sundar and Axar (2) perished in quick succession with 40 runs left, Tilak had partnerships with Arshdeep Singh (4) and Ravi Bishnoi (9*) that helped India secure a win with two wickets and four balls left.

Carse’s brilliant spell of 3/29 and a strong spell of 1/14 by spinner Adil Rashid went in vain as India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.