Pant or KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, or Varun Chakravarthy: What’s in line as coach Gambhir’s new surprise for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh?
India will open their 2025 ICC Champions Trophy account alongside Bangladesh, both of whom have been placed in Group A, alongside Pakistan and New Zealand, who star in the opening match of the Champions Trophy.
Though the Indian team has been in exquisite form and has finalized their squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy beforehand, Indian coach Gautam Gambhir is still known for his surprising elements in the game that usually have a huge impact on the game.
Indian top order not open for changes
The Indian top order could not be altered even by the Indian coaches' strategies, as the team includes veteran skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the inform as well as the only recognized opening pair since Yashasvi Jaiswal has been left out from the squad and is traveling only as the reserves.
Meanwhile, veteran batter Virat Kohli and in-form middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer have been considered as ideal options in the middle order. All these players seem to be irreplaceable in the Indian playing XI.
KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant—Will the gloveman change for India in CT?
Indian selectors Ajit Agarkar and coach Gautam Gambhir have all pinned KL Rahul as India’s first-choice wicket-keeper batsman in ODIs. However, his form in the England series, despite limited opportunities, has not been convincing enough to be picked for the Champions Trophy.
Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, has not appeared in an ODI game ever since he just played a single game in the Sri Lanka series since his return from injury. Pant recently evaded the danger of looming injury and might make it to the Indian side as the wicket-keeper batsman, but will that be in the first match against Bangladesh?
Kuldeep Yadav has the upper hand, but will the KKR card play in Varun Chakravarthy’s inclusion into the India 11?
India has almost finalized Kuldeep Yadav, the experienced spinner for the Indian lineup alongside Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as the spin-bowling all-rounders. Kuldeep Yadav, however, will face some competition from the expert KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
Chakravarthy’s form has attracted several fans towards his bowling, as he made his debut for India in the ODI format against England in the second ODI. He also picked his maiden wicket in the format on his debut game.
The India vs Bangladesh match will be an affair worth remembering, as what would be India’s playing 11 will be fixed in the match.
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