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Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan reveal their preferred India squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Sunil Gavaskar (Image: AFP)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to announce the Indian men’s cricket team squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy but former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan have laid out their picks.
According to reports, an official squad announcement is expected on January 19, with the BCCI selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, seeking an extension from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
As Indian cricket fans eagerly await India’s squad announcement, Gavaskar and Pathan revealed their choices.
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“If I am sitting there I will 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 backing. In the last few months, he has not got that backing. I will definitely back these two guys to be there in the Champions Trophy,” Sunil Gavaskar was quoted as saying on Star Sports.
“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, has to be in the squad because he has scored hundreds for India. How can you ignore somebody who is scoring hundreds for his country?” he added.
“If you have this kind of balance, you will have Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8 and then obviously you have batting and bowling options. This is as good a batting lineup as you will see. Having a fast-bowling all-rounder as your backup is a wonderful option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is on a high also. Not easy to perform in Australia, he has done that,” Irfan Pathan was quoted as saying on Star Sports.
“Mohammed Siraj will be the third one, not in the playing XI if Bumrah and Shami are available but we have got to see what happens with Bumrah going forward. We hope that the injury is not that severe,” he added.
Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan’s India Squad for Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj, Nitish Kumar Reddy
