Hey guys, what's up? So, this is the same squad that’s gonna play the ODI series against England. There are a couple of questions that we all want answers to, especially cricket fans, including those from Pakistan, about whether these two players would be part of the team. Well, both of them are in! First up, Jasprit Bumrah—everyone's been keeping an eye on whether he’d be in the Indian Champions Trophy squad. And then there’s Mohammed Shami. I think Bumrah is a really dangerous bowler, and with Shami joining in, they’re gonna be even more lethal.
But let me tell you straight up, there are two or three names in there that you might think don’t really belong. The Indian team has so many stars that someone is bound to be left out. But again, I think it's a fantastic team. Maybe they’ve done one thing a bit too much, and I'll tell you what that is after you read the squad. Also, for those who are watching, India announced the squad about two and a half to three hours ago. At first, it seemed like it was delayed because of a speech by Narendra Modi, their Prime Minister.
There's a delay, and I found out it might be because KL Rahul's report is coming in. But there's one thing I just don't get about this whole journey. When teams are announced in world cricket, what's the purpose? Look, the main purpose is cricket promotion; money is secondary. The first goal is to promote cricket. And you see, even the BCCI sells the announcement of the Indian team. I'm shocked at how much money the BCCI has. I mean, with a population of over a billion, you can imagine around 800 million people are probably watching and waiting for this, and I'm just some Indian.
I was watching some channels, and people were asking how many teams are going to be announced. I was shocked that such a wealthy board is even selling team announcements. They could just give the rights to TV channels to show them, or other stuff related to promotion. No doubt, cricket is huge in India, but the whole country—or even the world—is watching. You’d think they’d need to keep that in mind. I was surprised watching India’s prime TV channels; some of them seemed unsure whether they should show up or not.
The team for the Champions Trophy is being announced, and I’m surprised it’s delayed. That happens sometimes, but this is quite a long delay. Rohit Sharma is the captain, and Suman Gill is the vice-captain, so they’re openers as well. I think the team announcement might be similar to the playing XI. Shreyas Iyer played in the last World Cup and is in this one too. He's a really good batsman. Of course, we have Virat Kohli, but I think he’ll be one down. Shreyas might come in at four, and they've included two wicketkeepers.
KL Rahul is in the mix, and so is Rishabh Pant. But with the name order, it seems like KL Rahul might be ahead. It looks like he could be in the playing side since he’s been performing well in Australia. Rishabh Pant did have a great innings in the last match, but I think KL Rahul is the priority for selection. He also played in the last World Cup. Hardik Pandya is definitely in the picture. Then there's Axar Patel, the left-arm spin all-rounder, who was also part of the T20 World Cup final.
"We've got some solid players here. Washington Sundar is a good batsman and also an all-rounder who bowls off-spin. Kuldeep Yadav is the only regular spinner in the Champions Trophy squad for India. The others are all-rounders. Typically, you'd expect four spinners, but we'll get to that later. So, just to name them, we have Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami as the three fast bowlers in this squad. Rishabh Pant is the wicketkeeper, and we also have Varun Chakravarthy, a left-arm spin all-rounder, and Jaiswal down in the lineup. This is the order we're looking at."
It looks like Ashdeep Singh, Panta, Jadz, and Jeswal might not be top priorities for the playing XI; they could end up on the bench. If the other guys play, I can guess that Washington Sundar will likely play, and so will Patel. They’re probably going to go with three spinners, and Bumrah and Shami will be the two fast bowlers. They’ll also have Hardik Pandya in the mix, so it’s definitely shaping up to be a solid playing XI, no doubt about that. But the questions remain—Shubman Gill is out of form, and Rohit Sharma isn’t looking great either.
"Virat Kohli's form took a hit earlier, but things have changed now. The conditions and format are different, so we'll have to see how it plays out. If you're considering Rohit Sharma out of form, just remember he scored some huge runs in the T20 World Cup—over 90 against Australia or England, and he even got fifties against both teams. He plays really well in white-ball cricket, and the conditions in Dubai suit him. Overall, this squad is solid, especially with Harshad Rana against England."
They’ve kept Sanju Samson in reserve, but he’s a good batsman. I think maybe Yashasvi Jaiswal should be in the playing XI as an opener, but Shubman Gill is the vice-captain, so he’ll be in. If you compare the two, I think Jaiswal has the edge over Shubman Gill. But clearly, they’ve made Shubman the vice-captain for a reason. It’s not like if someone doesn’t perform for a couple of months, they just drop him. They must have thought it through, like they want to give him a chance to lead in the future.
Surya Kumar Yadav isn't there, Siraj isn't there, Karun Nair isn't there either. Recently, Sachin Tendulkar tweeted about him, so maybe people thought it was Nair, but he's not. This guy is a solid player; he scored five fifties in seven matches and has an average of around 750. He's only been out once. He's a really impressive kind of player, and it's been a long time since he got a chance in the Indian team. His Test average, from the little he's played, is about 54. He's played two ODIs, but...
"Check out his first-class record; he's got an average of about 48. In both ODIs and first-class cricket, he averages over 40. He's a solid batsman. So, in this Indian squad, there are three fast bowlers and four spinners, with one regular spinner. There are also three all-rounders, including one fast-bowling all-rounder. Surya Kumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan are not in the squad. I'm mentioning these two because they played in the World Cup, and now they’re not part of the team. Ishan Kishan opens the batting and also keeps wickets."
Rishabh Pant is back, so he'll be in the team. Surya Kumar isn’t available right now. Suman Gill had a fever in between, and it turned out to be dengue. But he was definitely a part of the team. Now, Washington Sundar has been included. Team India has opted for more spin all-rounders, which makes it clear that they know we played the match in Dubai. By the way, let me tell you, fast bowlers also get good support in Dubai, and only two fast bowlers seem to be in the playing eleven: Jasprit Bumrah and Shami. Of course, then there's Pandya as well.
"Going into this, Hardik Pandya has a big advantage. Another thing is that Patel has been around; he’s played in the T20 World Cup and performed decently with the bat. The best part is that he can bat in flexible positions, so you can slot him in wherever you need. Overall, to be honest, it’s a good squad. If you look at the names on paper, it looks solid. Now, the question is about the form of the players, which we’ve seen a bit of. But again, what does this mean for them in Dubai?"
India's got some tough challenges ahead in the first round against Pakistan and New Zealand. Of course, their first match is against Bangladesh, which is a pretty solid team, so that should be somewhat easier for India. Pakistan, on the other hand, is up against New Zealand for their first game. Overall, seven out of eight teams have been announced for the Champions Trophy, with only Pakistan still waiting. Honestly, I'm just glad Jasprit Bumrah is in the mix; it's going to be exciting!
It's not about whether Jasprit should have come when he was a question mark. Now that he's here, it's all good. We're hoping that our players like Aamer and Fakhhar Zaman will shine in the Champions Trophy too because the real magic happens when Aamer and Fakhhar open together. They’ve formed a solid partnership, and they're like India's most wanted duo. Then there's Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. The issue was that Bumrah was injured, but he's back now, bowling 60 balls for Team India, and with Shami on top of that, it's a great combo. Shami is really good, especially after the 2021 T20.
"We played the World Cup in Dubai, and the bowling wasn't great there, but I really rate Shami. I think he's equally good. He took 24 wickets in seven matches, even though he wasn't the first choice in the World Cup. After Hardik got out, they brought him in, just like before in the World Cup when he wasn't the first choice but performed when he got the chance. Now, I think they left Siraj out to go with Shami first. So overall, that's the deal."
"India has put together an amazing squad again. Let me tell you about 15 players: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (who's the vice-captain), Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. It’s superb! This time, make sure to share your thoughts in the comments. That’s all from my side, take care!"
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