Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Saturday named in India's squad for the Champions Trophy with his availability depending on fitness, and talented opener Yashasvi Jaiswal expectedly received the nod from the selectors, who also brought back Mohammed Shami in the national fold.
Bumrah had suffered back spasms during the recent Sydney Test against Australia and did not bowl on the final day at SCG.
But the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel went ahead and included the 31-year-old in the squads that will do duty in the home ODIs against England and in the marquee ICC event, starting Feb. 19.
Top-order batter Shubman Gill has been appointed as the vice-captain of the squad that had did not have place for pacer Mohammed Siraj.
Rohit Sharma, who will lead the side against England in the CT, explained the rationale behind selecting Bumrah with an asterisk against his name.
"Experience, it's only Siraj who's not there. But that's purely because we thought of it. We're not sure about Bumrah, whether he's going to play or not. We wanted to pick a squad where we have options of both, somebody to bowl with the new ball and somebody to bowl at the back end," said Sharma in the press meet to announce the squads.
Sharma hoped that seasoned pacer Shami and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh will support Bumrah, or step in the eventuality of him missing the tournament.
"Obviously, with Bumrah missing, we're not sure. We wanted Arshdeep to come and play that role of bowling at the back end and Shami, obviously we saw what he did with the new ball (in the World Cup 2023 and during the recent domestic matches)."
Shami is returning to the ODI set up for the first time since the 2023 World Cup, and the pacer has done well in the domestic matches (Ranji Trophy, SMAT and VHT), even though he is yet to hit the peak rhythm.
"Arshdeep hasn't played a lot of ODIs but he's been around the white-ball circuit for a long time. I don't feel so uncomfortable saying that he's not experienced.
"He has bowled some tough overs in white-ball cricket. I definitely think he can handle that pressure and Shami is a stalwart of white-ball cricket and what he did recently in the (ODI) World Cup was superb to watch," he added.
Sharma termed Siraj unfortunate to miss out on the selection and said his reduced effect with the old ball played a part in it.
"Siraj's effectiveness comes down a little bit if he's not going to take the new ball. We discussed it at length and we are only taking three seamers there (CT) because we wanted all the all-rounders with us.
"It's an unfortunate thing that he (Siraj) has to miss out but we had no option but to get the guys who can perform a certain role," he said.
India's squad for the #ChampionsTrophy 2025 announced! 💪 💪
January 18, 2025
Drop in a message in the comments below 🔽 to cheer for #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/eFyXkKSmcOThe selection of Jaiswal was a no-brainer after his fine run Down Under albeit in Tests, and the variety he offers at the top as a left-hander.
AdvertisementSharma underlined that point.
"Sometimes, I know it's very hard to ignore numbers but look at Jaiswal. We picked Jaiswal based on clearly what he's shown in the last 6-8 months. He's not played a single ODI but we still picked him because of the potential that he's got," he said.
All-rounder Harshit Rana, who made his Test debut in Australia, has been picked to play only the three-match ODI series against England.
Wrist-spinner Kuldeep, who was recuperating from a long-standing groin injury, has also been selected after sitting out of the Test series against Australia.
All-Rounders Galore
India have relied on a clutch of all-rounders to make an impact in the blue-riband event that they had won in 2013 under MS Dhoni.
Hardik Pandya will lead that list and the pace-bowling all-rounder will be back to ODIs for the first time after the 2023 World Cup when he limped out during the match against Bangladesh with an ankle injury.
Others are experienced Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, the two left-arm spinners, and off-spinner Washington Sundar.
Rishabh Pant has played a lone one-day match in the last two years, against Sri Lanka last year, after coming back from the accident, but the selectors have decided to give him the mantle of the first-choice wicketkeeper batter.
The left-handed variety that he offers down the line too might have played a part, with KL Rahul supporting him as the back-up wicketkeeper batter.
However, as expected, Sanju Samson did not feature in any of the squads despite doing well against South Africa recently. He had made a hundred against the Proteas at Paarl late last year.
But Samson not attending Kerala's Vijay Hazare Trophy camp and the subsequent non-selection for the domestic tournament went against him.
Karun Nair, despite 752 runs in the ongoing Hazare Trophy, missed out, as there was no slot to accommodate him.
"Some players will miss out and it's very, very unlucky and unfortunate. But again, if you talk about everyone, you can't please everyone.
"At the end of the day you try and make the best team and best possible squad to win games under different situations and I feel with these guys you can have that," Sharma explained.
India Squad for Champions Trophy and England ODIs: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardil Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana (only for England series).
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