Rohit Sharma‘s men have some tough fixtures ahead of them as India begin their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 journey. Put in the Group A, alongside Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh, Team India needs to finish among the top two sides in order to progress to the semi-finals. While no team can be taken lightly in the competition, retired India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had some observations to share as he rated the four teams from Group A of the Champions Trophy.
Ashwin, in a video on his YouTube channel, said that he would’ve given India 90 rating points if Jasprit Bumrah was fit. But, is only giving 85 as the marquee pacer isn’t playing. Even New Zealand got 85 rating points from Ashwin.
“I’ll give them 85. I would given India a 90 had Bumrah been there because India is completely different with him in the mix. The only concern for India in my view is that all their games are in Dubai. Let’s say we lose all three tosses and are put into bat first because it’s chalk and cheese between day and night at this venue. So if opponents bat under lights, this 85 might start dropping,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
As far as the other two teams – Pakistan and Bangladesh are concerned – Ashwin only rated them 55 and 40 respectively.
With Bumrah absent, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been backed to fill the void left by him.
Australian great Ricky Ponting will pick Arshdeep Singh over Harshit Rana for India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh with the Rohit Sharma-led side hoping to fill the huge void left by injured pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Rana has done alright in the chances he has got ahead of the ICC event but Ponting feels the left-arm pacer Arshdeep is better suited to bowl in all phases of the 50-over game.
“I would go with the left-armer and I’d go with Arshdeep (to replace Bumrah),” Ponting said on The ICC Review.
“We know how good he’s been in T20 cricket and if you think about the skill set, he probably provides a similar skill set to what Bumrah does with new ball and death overs and that’s what India will miss.
“That’s taking nothing away from Harshit Rana because I think he has got a lot of talent and we know what he can do with the new ball, but I don’t think his death skills are as good as what Arshdeep Singh’s are.”
The former Australian captain feels the presence of a left-arm fast bowler in the playing eleven is always “crucial”.
With PTI Inputs
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