Former India pacer Laxmipathy Balaji believes that Mohammed Shami will be very important if the team has to do well in the Champions Trophy. The statement comes as India prepare for their campaign without Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out due to a back injury.

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"Actually, he had out-bowled Bumrah in the 2019 (50-over World Cup) and in the last World Cup (2023). Bumrah is the champion bowler across formats. But Shami has experience and, before Bumrah's arrival, it was Shami who carried India's attack all through," said Balaji as reported by news agency PTI.

Also Read: Champions Trophy: One batter to look out from each team

"I think it's very important. If India has to do well, then Shami has to come good with the new ball. The kind of impact he can make in his first six overs with the new ball, it will play a crucial role for India."

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"Old ball is anyway...it is a defensive game now. If he can make early inroads regularly, that will give a huge boost to India," he added.

India pick five spinners for Champions Trophy

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has picked up five spinners in the India squad—Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. The three pacers in the team are Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana with Hardik Pandya as the medium pace all-rounder.

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Varun was included at the last minute in place of batter Yashasvi Jaiswal—a move that has been questioned a lot since Jaiswal was part of the provisional squad for the tournament.

The five spinners, two of which offer the same skill (Axar and Jadeja), have also been termed one too many, if not two. The idea behind selecting the spinners could be the slow and turning pitches of Dubai—the venue where India will play all its matches.

India start their campaign against Bangladesh on Feb 20 before facing Pakistan on Feb 23 and New Zealand on Mar 2 in the last group-stage match.