India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, were reportedly engaged in a heated discussion regarding the squad selection for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. According to reports, the debate centered around the middle-order batting positions.
During the press conference for the Champions Trophy 2025 squad announcement, Agarkar confirmed that Rishabh Pant would be the team’s first-choice wicketkeeper. However, in the recent series against England, KL Rahul kept wickets in all three matches and batted at number six in two of them.
In the final game of the series, Rahul was promoted to bat at number five. Following India’s 3-0 ODI series victory, Gambhir backed Rahul during his press conference and stated:
“At the moment, KL is a No.1 wicketkeeper for us, and he’s delivered for us, and see, when you’ve got two wicketkeepers in this squad, you can’t play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he (Pant) gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That’s all I can say at the moment. Right now, KL is the one who’s going to start.”
As per the report, Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir had a heated discussion regarding Shreyas Iyer’s place in the playing XI. Iyer was initially set to miss out on the first ODI against England if Virat Kohli had been available.
However, Kohli’s knee injury created an opportunity for Iyer to feature in the lineup. The Mumbai batter made the most of his chance, scoring two half-centuries in the three-match ODI series against England.
India will begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh
India have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand for the Champions Trophy 2025. They will kick off their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20, followed by a high-stakes clash against Pakistan on February 23 and their final group-stage match against New Zealand on March 2.
All of India’s matches will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India are the joint-most successful team in the tournament’s history, alongside Australia. They have lifted the Champions Trophy twice, in 2002 and 2013, while Australia secured victories in 2006 and 2009.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.