After a lot of dilly-dally over participation and not filing the team by the actual date. Team India squad for the ICC Champions Trophy has been announced and there are no big massive surprises. Virat Kohli will lead the side as expected. The big miss is Ishant Sharma. Yuvraj Singh and Kedar Jadhav make the cut into the 16-member Indian squad for the big ICC event slated to begin on the 1st of June, in England and Wales. Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammad Shami return to the squad.
A selector from the BCCI spoke on anonymity and said, “Selectors are keeping the youngsters are kept in mind but we believe they should not be exposed at such a big stage.”
Youngsters like Nitish Rana and Rishabh Pant have been performing exceedingly well but still not to find a place could be disheartening for them. Kuldeep Yadav is another name that misses out. India will be starting out as defending champions which in itself is a huge honour. Another big inclusion is Kolkata Knight Riders Manish Pandey.
#WATCH: BCCI selection committee addressing media in Delhi https://t.co/b7NAVFQj2x
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 8, 2017
“Ashwin’s selection was not a difficult decision. He’s had rest, isn’t out of form. We’ve been preparing him for the Champions Trophy” said MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors after the squad announcement. Virat Kohli-led Indian side will start their campaign with a game against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4 at Edgbaston. In some cricketing circles they are also saying that this could be a litmus test for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is at the fag end of his career and this could very well turn out to be his last ICC tournament, as Rishabh Pant is really pushing his case with some impressive performances.
#CT #TeamIndia – Virat (C), Shikhar, Rohit, Rahane, MSD (wk), Yuvraj, Kedar, Hardik, Ashwin, Jadeja, Shami, Umesh, Bhuvi, Bumrah & Manish pic.twitter.com/pQOgpO9JNf
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 8, 2017
#ChampionsTrophy2017 squad: V Kohli, Shikhar, Rohit, Rahane, MS Dhoni , Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ashwin, Jadeja, Shami
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 8, 2017
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (capt), Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami
Full Schedule:
1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval
2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston
3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval
4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston
5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval
6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff
7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston
8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval
9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff
10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston
11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval
12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff
14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff
15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston
18 June – Final, The Oval
19 June – Reserve day
