Both players had departed from the field during India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy 2025 Clash.
During the pre-match conference ahead of the India vs New Zealand Champions Trophy (CT) 2025 clash, KL Rahul confirmed that Rohit Sharma will play the upcoming fixture. The wicketkeeper-batter also brushed away any concerns over bowler Mohammed Shami’s availability.
“Fitness-wise, everything seems pretty okay. There are no real concerns about anyone missing, as far as I know. Everyone has been at the gym; everyone has been in training,” said Rahul.
In India’s previous CT fixture against Pakistan, skipper Rohit faced an injury scare over a strained hamstring. He was out of the field for a few overs during Pakistan’s chase. In the interim, Shubman Gill walked in the captaincy shoes.
Leading pacer Shami also departed the field after the fifth over during the first innings in the same match. He was struggling with an ankle issue during the game.
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The Men in Blue will face New Zealand on March 2 in Dubai, at the same venue as India’s last two fixtures in the tournament. Though both teams have already qualified for the semis, Rahul believes the Kiwis are not to be taken lightly.
“It’s my first Champions Trophy and what I’ve realised is things happen really quickly. It’s not like the World Cup where even if you don’t start well, there’s an opportunity for you to come back. But in this tournament, it’s just really hard. You need to be really switched on. No game is easy or no team can be taken lightly. So, yeah, that’s how we’ve looked at things in New Zealand. They’ve always been a very formidable team and a very competitive team. We’ve played against them a lot of times in ICC events and they’ve ramped up against us. It’s been quite even in the contest,” explained Rahul.
India and New Zealand are the only unbeatable teams in the tournament so far. Since India have just a day gap between their group-stage match and the semi-final, the decision-makers may not make any changes in the playing XI.
“I’m not in the leadership group to have to make that decision. But I’m sure there will be some temptation. I’ve been in these positions before where there’s an opportunity where you can try out the players who have important games and do get a game. But I don’t know if that will happen in a Championship Trophy. We only have one day’s break before the semifinals. And we’ve got a six-day break now. So we probably want all of the players to play the game and get a little bit of time in the middle. And this is my version. I don’t know. It might be very different tomorrow,” stated the 32-year old.
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