Former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan have selected their India team for the upcoming Champions Trophy. Much to their surprise, both decided to pick veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja Axar Patel in the squad.
Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan also sprung a big surprise when they picked Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the tournament alongside Rohit Sharma. Both agreed to have Shubman Gill as a back-up player in the side, rather than include him in the first choice – playing XI.
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Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan pick India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad.
During a discussion on Star Sports’ ‘Game Plan’, Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan agreed that Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli should be India’s top three. The duo picked Shreyas Iyer for his excellent batting form in the recent ODIs and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“If I am sitting there, I will say who has been very good in the recent past. KL Rahul had a fantastic 50-over World Cup. Shreyas Iyer – what kind of ODI World Cup he had, I think he needed support. In the last few months didn’t have that support, I will definitely support these two to be present at the Champions Trophy,” said Irfan Pathan.
When asked about the wicketkeepers, both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have been selected in the first choice playing XI, making it a strong and deep batting order. Sanju Samson was picked as the third wicketkeeper due to his bright T20I form.
“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, must be in the team because he has scored hundreds for India. How can you ignore someone who . scoring hundreds for his country?” Noted by Sunil Gavaskar.
Ravindra Jadeja through Axar Patel
Surprisingly, both Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan insisted on a long batting line-up with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja at 7th and 8th. They picked Nitish Kumar Reddy as the utility all-rounder based on his recent excellent Test debut. Axar Patel did not find a place in the team.
“If you have this kind of balance, you’ll have Ravindra Jadeja at No.8 and then obviously you’ve got batting and bowling options. This is as good a batting line-up as you’re going to see,” remarked Pathan.
“Having an all-round fast bowler as a back-up is a wonderful option. Nitish Kumar Reddy is also at a high level. It is not easy to perform in Australia, he has done it,” the former Indian all-rounder added.
Bowling setup
Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav as the three bowlers in the team. However, Pathan insisted on Mohammed Siraj as the stand-in fast bowler.
“Mohammed Siraj will be third, he won’t be in the playing XI if Bumrah and Shami are available, but we have to see what happens with Bumrah going forward. Hopefully the injury is not that bad,” Irfan Pathan said.
Unfortunately, all three bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav are currently struggling with injuries. Kuldeep and Shami had surgeries last year. While Shami has been selected for the upcoming T20I seriesHow he maintains the workload of international cricket remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep is yet to return to the field after a groin operation. However, the biggest worry will be Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah suffered a side strain during the Sydney Test against Australia and there has been no update on his fitness since that match.
Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan’s India Team for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (ie), Rishabh Pant (ie), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson ( ie) , Nitish Kumar Reddy
