New Delhi
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce the Indian squad for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 today. The team will be announced during a press conference at 12:30 pm led by selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar, in which he will give information about the players selected and the strategies made for the prestigious tournament. Rohit Sharma will also participate in this press conference. Apart from this, the team will also be announced for the three-match T20 series against England. The Champions Trophy 2025 will see eight teams compete in two groups of four, with 12 group-stage matches leading up to the semi-finals and final. India vs Pakistan match is to be held on 23 February in Dubai. If India reaches the final then Dubai will also host the final.
The match with Pakistan is on 23rd February
India’s group stage will begin on February 23. After that a match was played against New Zealand on 2 March. The tournament will begin on February 19 and the final will be played on March 8. India and Pakistan are the only two teams who have not announced their teams for the Champions Trophy. This delay from the BCCI is reportedly due to concerns over the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav.
Bumrah is injured
It is noteworthy that Bumrah had suffered a back injury in the final Test match of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Bumrah was taken for scans after getting injured on the second day of the Test match in Sydney. Although the BCCI did not confirm the severity of his injury, Bumrah did not bowl further in the match, which India lost by six wickets.
Karun Nair will be in focus
It will also be interesting to see whether the senior selection committee will choose Karun Nair who is in excellent form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy or not. Nair has scored 752 runs in seven innings with five centuries. It is noteworthy that the final of the Premier Domestic 50 over tournament is on Saturday, which conflicts with the announcement of the team. Nair will lead Vidarbha in the final against his former team Karnataka.