KL Rahul Might Not Get a Place in the Indian Squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Reports had begun to emerge in recent times that wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul would not be part of India’s ICC Champions Trophy campaign in 2025. The batter, for the most part of the ongoing series and not to mention the one against Sri Lanka, has been seen out of form with the bat and now stands on the brink of being shown the door. What will pull captain Rohit Sharma towards other options in the Champions Trophy will be his poor show, combined with lost opportunities.
India’s Ambitious ICC Champions Trophy Campaign
Barely had the curtains come down to the victory of T20 World Cup 2024, India is all set to get into the action to pocket yet another ICC trophy. The ICC Champions Trophy slated for 2025 in Pakistan becomes the next big opportunity for the Indian cricket team. Rohit Sharma aspires to do what MS Dhoni achieved as captain and has promised to make the team win this prestigious championship to be only the second Indian captain who won it.
Predicted Line-Up
Preparations for the Champions Trophy will be geared up with the inclusion of several key players in the squad. The opening slots will probably go to Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Rohit Sharma will be the leader of the team, and Gill will be the vice-captain of the ODI team. Amidst these schemes of things, Yashasvi Jaiswal, the golden child of the nation, might get the axe from the final XI in due course of time.
Virat Kohli will turn up at three, shouldering the batting then just as he will be leading from the front yet again against the best in a big ICC event. Shreyas Iyer will remain at four, still part of India’s 50-over team inspite of the exclusion from central contracts.
Wicketkeeper and Batting Options
Rishabh Pant is set to be the first-choice wicketkeeper for the Champions Trophy, which might shut the door completely for KL Rahul. With Pant’s attacking nature of batting and the surety of his record with the big gloves, he will be a front-runner over Rahul, who has not cemented his place in the XI as of now.
However, with Hardik Pandya expected to spearhead the all-rounder roles and recent performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which have seen him entrusted with bowling the regular 10 overs, he will be India’s main pace-bowling all-rounder. Axar Patel is expected to be the spin-bowling all-rounder more so than because there are no set designs for Ravindra Jadeja in the ODI setup as of now.
Spin and Pace Attack
In all probability, it will be Kuldeep Yadav who will lead the spin department for India during the Champions Trophy. He will be the key man for them when it comes to picking wickets through the middle overs. While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami are automatic picks when it comes to pace attack, questions are raised over the latter’s availability, having just picked up an injury towards the end of the ODI World Cup 2023. Still, the Indian team management is pretty confident that he will be completely fit before the event starts.
Final Predicted Playing XI
Operative as per the existing expectations, the playing XI of India for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is going to look like:
Rohit Sharma ©
Shubman Gill
Virat Kohli
Shreyas Iyer
Rishabh Pant (wk)
Hardik Pandya
Axar Patel
Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammed Shami. KL Rahul’s probable exclusion, considering makeshift issues with form, goes to prove yet again that the only players that would get fielded would be one that can bring in performance under pressure. High on experience and emerging talents in this side should give India a good chance to add yet another ICC title under their belt and stamp their authority as the most threatening force in international cricket. Captaincy and strategizing would be the prime factors in shaping India’s campaign and success in this marquee event for Rohit Sharma.
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