India’s squad for the much-anticipated ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was announced on Saturday (January 18) with several surprise calls from the national selectors. Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar unveiled the 15-member squad during a press conference in Mumbai after the media waited for two-and-a-half hours.
Some big names were left out of the squad, which raised many eyebrows. Indian goalkeeper Sanju Samson, who impressed with his performances last year, failed to secure a place.
Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir clash over India’s 2025 ICC Champions Trophy squad selection.
Mohammed Siraj and consistent performers like Karun Nair and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who dominated the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, have also been overlooked for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma and the selectors have picked Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the wicketkeepers for the upcoming prestigious tournament. In fact, before the announcement of the squad, an emergency meeting was allegedly held in Mumbai between the Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir; Captain Rohit Sharma; and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Gautam Gambhir, Rohit and Agarkar are again said to not be on the same page for the squad selection for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit and Gambhir were reportedly involved in heated exchanges over the selection of key players for the 15-man squad during an emergency meeting. This time Gambhir’s opinion did not count too much.
Gautam Gambhir’s suggestions are completely ignored by Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar
According to a report by Dainik Jagran, Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar have already decided on the final 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 before the announcement. Despite this, an emergency meeting was held at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai which lasted for two and a half hours.
This meeting left a bitter taste among the think tank of the Indian cricket team. According to a report, India’s chief coach Gautam Gambhir wanted all-rounder Hardik Pandya to be made the co-captain of the eight-nation tournament. But Rohit and Agarkar were adamant about Shubman Gill.
As they say, the majority wins; Gambhir’s opinion was completely ignored and the out-of-form Shubman Gill was named India’s vice-captain for the mega event. Rohit and Agarkar are completely against giving any leading role to Hardik Pandya despite many BCCI officials favoring the all-rounder.
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Gautam Gambhir’s suggestions to pick Sanju Samson over Rishabh Pant were rejected in an emergency meeting
Well, there was also an intense debate over the choice of wicketkeeper, as Gautam Gambhir pushed for the inclusion of Sanju Samson, who had great performances last year, including three T20I centuries. But again Rohit and Agarkar rejected the coach’s suggestion.
Gambhir advocated the selection of Sanju Samson as the wicket-keeper in India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad, but Rohit and Agarkar were firm on Rishabh Pant, leading to another heated row. After an intense disagreement, Rohit and Agarkar chose Rishabh Pant over Samson.
However, some reports suggested that Sanju Samson was not even considered for selection, as the selection committee was not happy with his decision to skip the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. despite BCCI making domestic cricket mandatory for Indian players.
