India, the runners-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy, will be looking to compete in the ninth edition of the competition, which kicks off on February 19.
Piyush Chawla, who was a member of the 2011 Indian ODI World Cup winning team, responded to a question on the fringes of the One World One Family Cup 2025 by predicting the starting lineup for the Rohit Sharma-led team in the upcoming Champions Trophy.
The former leg-spinner predicted that Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer would follow Rohit and Shubman Gill as India’s opening batsmen. KL Rahul, wearing the wicketkeeping gloves, will bat at number five. Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja are the three all-rounders who will pursue him. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were the two specialised seamers whom Chawla selected for his team. Still unknown, though, is the former’s availability.
Piyush Chawla’s predicted playing XI for India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (if fit), Mohammed Shami.
India is currently playing England at home in a three-match ODI series.
They haven’t played an ODI since losing to Sri Lanka 0–2 in the Island Nation in August 2024. On Thursday, February 6, the Men in Blue got off to a great start, defeating Jos Buttler and company by four wickets in the opening ODI in Nagpur.
With half-centuries from Shubman, Shreyas, and Axar, India was able to reach a 249-run mark in just 38.4 overs. In the meantime, Ravindra Jadeja and Harshit Rana both hit three-fors with the ball.
With the second ODI scheduled for Sunday, February 9, the action will now move to Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium.
On the other hand, India’s Champions Trophy campaign starts on February 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium when they play Bangladesh. The same group includes Pakistan and New Zealand, whom India will meet on February 23 and March 2, respectively.
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