Shami, Chakravarthy in; 4 players left out: Complete list of changes in India's ODI squad for Champions Trophy
India will be up against Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy curtain-raiser in Dubai on Thursday, February 20. India made a couple of last-minute changes to their squad for the ICC event but there were a few tweaks in the team from the one that played against Sri Lanka more than six months ago.
India made a couple of last-minute changes to their Champions Trophy squad before the deadline but most of the team was settled and similar to the World Cup 2023 side. Mohammed Shami returning was a huge plus but Jasprit Bumrah's injury meant that the Men in Blue had to work around their backups a bit. Any line-up without Bumrah, especially in an ICC event will look a bit handicapped but India will hope to bank on their experienced batters and spinners in order to put a good show in the three-week-long competition.
Here's a look at all the changes in India's ODI squad from the Sri Lanka series, they played in August last year:
IN
Shami was a big name returning to India's squad following all that he went through in the past 13-14 months while Ravindra Jadeja was another player, who earned his place back with terrific performances in the England ODIs. Hardik Pandya, who took a break from the Sri Lanka ODIs due to personal reasons, will give India an edge with the balance he provides and the final inclusion, who was actually the final name added to the CT squad for India was Varun Chakravarthy. Chakravarthy was too good in a form to be left out by the team management.
OUT
Among the omissions, Mohammed Siraj's name was the most high-profile one. Siraj has been one of the first names on India's ODI sheet for a couple of years but the team management and the selectors sided with the pace and bounce of Harshit Rana. With Pandya returning, Shivam Dube didn't find a place and with Shami back, Khaleel Ahmed wasn't also considered. Riyan Parag hadn't played any match before the squad was picked after a long injury layoff and rehab and hence, wasn't considered as well.
India's squad for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy