Champions Trophy 2025: Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has revealed his preferred Indian team for the 2025 Champions Trophy and the upcoming ODI series against England. Notably, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav are not on his list.
The ODI series against England will begin on February 6 in Nagpur, while the Champions Trophy will begin on February 19, with India facing Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
Chopra’s selection criteria focused on the players’ performances since the 2023 ODI World Cup. Rohit Sharma was picked as both captain and opener due to his impressive stats after the World Cup. Sharma has scored 754 runs in 14 innings, including a century and five half-centuries, and has a strike rate close to 130.
Champions Trophy 2025 Jaiswal and Gill openers
Despite Shubhman Gill having an average of 37.4 in 12 innings without a century, he was selected as an opener along with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson are out of the team
Chopra named Virat Kohli as his first choice to be included in the team, who has scored at an average of 74 with three centuries in 14 innings since the World Cup. However, Suryakumar Yadav was not included in the team due to fewer runs in limited ODIs and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sanju Samson was also not included in the team due to less playing.
Shreyas Iyer has cemented his place in the middle order thanks to his impressive record of 620 runs in 15 innings, including two centuries at a strike rate of 112 and an average of 52. Chopra chose KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant for wicketkeeper-batsmen. Rahul scored 560 runs in 14 innings at an average of 56 after the World Cup. Pant is expected to replace Ishan Kishan despite playing fewer ODIs in the last two years.
Squad picked by Chopra for Champions Trophy:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
