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Former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan they picked their India squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. In a big surprise, both decided to pick veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja Axar Patel in the template
Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan also sprung a big surprise when they picked Yashasvi Jaiswal to open alongside Rohit Sharma in the tournament. Both agreed to have Shubman Gill as a reserve starter in the side instead of including him in the first choice-Playing XI.
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Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan pick India squad for Champions Trophy 2025
During a discussion on Star Sports’ show ‘Game Plan’, Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan agreed that Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli were India’s top three. The duo picked Shreyas Iyer because of his excellent form as a batsman in the recent ODIs and the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“If I’m sitting there, I’ll say who has done really well in the recent past. KL Rahul had a fantastic 50-over World Cup. Shreyas Iyer, the kind of ODI World Cup he had, I think he needed some support in the last few months, he has not received that support, I will definitely support these two to be there in the Champions Trophy,” said Irfan Pathan.
When asked about the wicketkeepers, both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were picked in the first-choice Playing XI, making it a strong and deep batting order. Sanju Samson was picked as the third wicket due to his brilliant T20I form.
“No. 4 for me will be Shreyas Iyer. No. 5 will be KL Rahul and No. 6 will be Rishabh Pant. Sanju Samson with the hundreds he has scored must be in the squad because he has scored hundreds for the India. How can you ignore someone who is scoring hundreds for his country?” pointed out Sunil Gavaskar.
Ravindra Jadeja over Axar Patel
Surprisingly, both Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan insisted on having a long batting line-up with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7 and No. 8. They picked Nitish Kumar Reddy as their back-up all-rounder based on his excellent Test debut recently. Axar Patel did not find a place in the squad.
“If you have that kind of balance, you’ll have Ravindra Jadeja at No.8 and then obviously you’ve got batting and bowling options. That’s as good a batting line-up as you’re going to see,” observed Pathan.
“Having a fast bowler as backup is a wonderful option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is also up to the task. It is not easy to perform in Australia, he has done it,” the former India all-rounder added.
Alignment of bowling pins
Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav as the three players in the team. However, Pathan insisted on having Mohammed Siraj as his backup fast bowler.
“Mohammed Siraj will be third, not in the playing eleven if Bumrah and Shami are available, but we have to see what happens with Bumrah going forward. Hopefully the injury is not that serious,” said Irfan Pathan.
Unfortunately, all three bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav have injury problems at the moment. Kuldeep and Shami underwent surgery last year. While Shami has been selected for the upcoming T20I seriesit remains to be seen how he maintains the workload of international cricket.
Kuldeep, on the other hand, is yet to return to the field after his groin surgery. However, the biggest concern will be Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah suffered a side strain during the Sydney Test against Australia and there has been no update on his fitness since that match.
Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan’s India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (week), Rishabh Pant (week), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson () , Nitish Kumar Reddy
