India have made a shock decision on deadline day of the Champions Trophy 2025 squad announcement with Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped from the initial squad named.
Jasprit Bumrah, who had a lower back injury, and missed the England series has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy squad with the Men’s Selection Committee naming Harshit Rana as Bumrah’s replacement.
While Harshit Rana replacing Bumrah was an expected change given the premier pacer’s slow recovery, the shocking decision was also to replace an opening batter with an additional spin option.
Varun and Jaiswal both made their ODI debuts in the England series, but the latter was dropped after the first game with Shreyas Iyer, who played only because Virat Kohli was injured, shone with a fine knock. Jaiswal made his debut as an opener with Shubman Gill going down the order which meant there was no place for Iyer until Kohli was injured at the last time.
But with Iyer shining, Jaiswal was immediately dropped from the second ODI with Gill moving back to the top. Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube were named as non-travelling reserves for the Champions Trophy 2025 squad.
Former India player and analyst Aakash Chopra had suggested that dropping Jaiswal for the Champions Trophy to accomodate someone like Mohammed Siraj is something India could consider.
“You might not require Yashasvi Jaiswal. That’s a possibility. You wanted to maintain a left-right, left-right combination in the batting order,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
India, however, wanted an x-factor wicket-taker with Bumrah ruled out, bringing in Varun as the extra spin option ahead of a back-up opener like Jaiswal.
While Rana, who impressed on ODI debut with three wickets, was also added, India might be exploring the possibility of having Varun and Kuldeep Yadav in the same XI to increase their wicket-taking options in the absence of Bumrah.
Jaiswal’s omission also means that Shubman Gill will now open with Rohit Sharma with Shreyas Iyer assured of a spot in the middle-order. India also tested Axar Patel at No.5 during the England series to ensure they have a left-handed option available to break the string of right-handers in the top 7.
Axar shone with scores of 52 (47) and 41* (43) from the position in the two games, further giving the team the confidence to drop Jaiswal for the ICC tournament.
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Non Travelling substitutes: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube. The three players will travel to Dubai as and when required.
