New Delhi
The Indian team for Champions Trophy 2025 will be announced today. Along with this, the team for the three-match ODI series against England will also be announced today. It is believed that only one team can enter both. In the 14 months since the World Cup final held in November 2023, the Indian cricket team has played only 6 ODI matches. For this reason, selectors may have to puzzle a lot for selection.
Agarkar and Rohit will hold press conference
A press conference has been organized to announce Team India. In this, team captain Rohit Sharma will be there along with chief selector Ajit Agarkar. According to Indian time, it will start at around 12:30 noon. BCCI itself had given this information. It is clear from this announcement that Team India is going to take the field in the Champions Trophy under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.
Where to watch team announcement live?
The question in everyone’s mind is where to watch the Champions Trophy team announcement, so let us give you this information. You can watch the streaming of Team India’s announcement today on Hotstar. It can be broadcast on Star Sports. After the team announcement, Rohit and Agarkar will answer the questions of the media. ICC had given the deadline of January 12 for team announcement. But BCCI had asked for a week’s time and it was approved.
Champions Trophy starts from 19th February
The Champions Trophy is being organized after 8 years. It will start from February 19 in Pakistan. The Indian team will play its matches in UAE. In this tournament of 8 teams, India will play its first match against Bangladesh on 20 February. After this the team will face Pakistan and New Zealand. The title match of Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on 9 March.
Awaiting Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness report
According to media reports, BCCI was waiting for the fitness report of Jasprit Bumrah. In the last match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah was seen struggling with a back problem, due to which he did not bowl in the second innings. Now questions are being raised in everyone’s mind about whether Bumrah will play in the Champions Trophy or not. According to reports, BCCI has received Bumrah’s fitness report and now the team will be announced on the basis of it.
Mohammed Shami’s return almost certain
Apart from Bumrah, Mohammed Shami is also making a comeback in the team after a long time. Mohammed Shami played his last ODI match in 2023. This match was the final of the ODI World Cup. After this he got injured and did not play any ODI match in 2024. In such a situation, now after a year, Mohammed Shami is returning to the team. The Champions Trophy tournament will start from February 19. The Indian team will play its first match against Bangladesh on 20 February, while India will face Pakistan on 23 February. The Indian team will play all its matches in Dubai.
Yashasvi-Shami will also enter?
Where Rohit Sharma will captain the Indian team. Whereas Shubman Gill and former captain Virat Kohli can join the team as specialist batsmen. Shreyas Iyer’s place in the team also seems certain, who is showing excellent form in domestic cricket. Whereas Yashasvi Jaiswal can be included in the team as a backup opener.
At the same time, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are likely to get a place in the squad as wicketkeeper batsmen. Hardik Pandya’s role is going to be very important in the Champions Trophy. Hardik will not only want to show a brilliant game with the bat, but in bowling too, a strong game will be expected from this star all-rounder.
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja can be included in the spin department. Four specialist fast bowlers can be included in the fast bowling unit. Along with Bumrah, experienced fast bowler Mohammed Shami can also be seen bowling in this mega tournament. Apart from this, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammad Siraj can also catch the flight to Dubai with Team India. Since Arshdeep is a left arm fast bowler, his presence will bring variety to the attack.
Probable 15-member Indian squad for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Siraj.
These players are also contenders for selection: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dubey, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Karun Nair.
Let us tell you that there will be a total of 15 matches between 8 teams in the Champions Trophy 2025. The teams have been divided into 2 groups. India and Pakistan are in the same Group-A. The remaining two teams along with them are New Zealand and Bangladesh. Whereas South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan and England have been kept in Group-B. All 8 teams will play 3-3 matches in their respective groups. After this, the top-2 teams of each group will qualify for the semi-finals. The first semi-final will be held in Dubai, while the second will be held in Lahore. After this the final match will be played. In such a situation, if a team reaches the finals, it will play a total of 5 matches in the tournament.
Champions Trophy groups
Group A – Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Bangladesh
Group B – South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan, England
Full schedule of Champions Trophy…
19 February- Pakistan vs New Zealand, Karachi
20 February- Bangladesh vs India, Dubai
21 February- Afghanistan vs South Africa, Karachi
22 February- Australia vs England, Lahore
23 February- Pakistan vs India, Dubai
24 February- Bangladesh vs New Zealand, Rawalpindi
25 February- Australia vs South Africa, Rawalpindi
26 February- Afghanistan vs England, Lahore
27 February- Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Rawalpindi
28 February- Afghanistan vs Australia, Lahore
March 1- South Africa vs England, Karachi
March 2- New Zealand vs India, Dubai
March 4- Semifinal-1, Dubai
March 5- Semifinal-2, Lahore
March 9 – Final, Lahore (will be played in Dubai if India reaches the final)
10 March- Reserve Day