After much deliberation and talks in the lead-up to the squad announcement for the England ODIs and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Saturday (Jan 18) in Mumbai, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar briefed the media and informed everyone of the chosen 15. What stood out was the selection of unfit Jasprit Bumrah, the return of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill's appointment as the new vice-captain.
Though the decision-makers went defensive in naming the tried-and-tested players for the first showpiece event of the year, the latest reports suggest something else.
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As per a Dainik Jagran report, the delay in the squad announcement by over two hours was because of disagreements over the selection of a few players and the roles of others in the team.
The BCCI selection committee, alongside the team captain and the head coach (Gautam Gambhir), made a few bold calls, with Gill getting promoted as Rohit’s deputy the talking point of the squad announcement. What makes this call interesting is how they ignored Pandya - India’s vice-captain during the home World Cup just 15 months ago.
Meanwhile, Gambhir is said to have asked for Pandya as Rohit’s deputy for the eight-team tournament, one of his two demands the chief selector and captain rejected; instead, they chose a relatively younger Gill to be Rohit’s successor for the white-ball captaincy.
Notably, Pandya has led India across two formats in Rohit’s absence and also dons the captaincy hat at Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which replaced Rohit with him as the side’s new captain ahead of the previous season.
‘More drama’
It doesn’t end here.
The report also suggests that Gambhir, a staunch supporter of overlooked Kerala gloveman Sanju Samson, also asked for him in the Champions Trophy squad; Rohit and Agarkar, however, showed confidence in returning Rishabh Pant.
Also read | 'Destroyed by egos...,' Shashi Tharoor blames state administrators for Samson's CT omission
Even though Samson’s absence from the Vijay Hazare Trophy for personal reasons cast doubts over CT participation, his recent form and ODI average of over 50 were enough for the selectors to consider him, which wasn’t the case. His absence sparked a debate on social media, with former cricketers and politicians coming out in his support.
The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson -- the player wrote to KCA, in advance, regretting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad -- has now resulted in…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2025
Besides, the BCCI not picking Karun Nair, who scored over 750 runs across eight matches in the domestic 50-over tournament, averaging over 350, made everyone question their selection parameters for an India call-up.
Is there a point playing Domestic cricket when you don’t pick players based on form & performance ? #KarunNair
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 18, 2025
Agarkar, however, explained what made them not pick Nair in the ODI team, saying,
"Yeah, it was tough. Those are really special performances. Someone who averages 700-plus. We did have a chat," Agarkar said during the presser in Mumbai.
"At the moment, finding a spot in the squad, in this team, is really difficult. Look at the guys who have been picked. All average well in excess of mid-40s. Unfortunately, you can't fit everyone in a squad of 15. But those performances certainly make you take notice. If there is a loss of form (for a player) or injuries, there's certainly going to be a conversation around him," the chief selector continued.
India’s CT 2025 squad –
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja
(With inputs from agencies)