Champions Trophy: Few ODIs, no Bumrah, but India’s batting looks solid | Cricket News

Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma. (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: A 12 months earlier than the 50-over World Cup at dwelling in 2023, India performed 30 ODIs with a purpose to discover the precise steadiness and the precise mixture. As a end result, India had a close to faultless present – up till that forgettable night in Ahmedabad.
With the ICC Champions Trophy within the offing, issues are the exact opposite. Chasing a spot within the World Test Championship (WTC) remaining for a 3rd cycle operating, India have performed the longest format for essentially the most half. Since shedding to Australia in November 2023, India have performed simply 9 ODIs – the fewest of the eight groups that can compete in Pakistan and Dubai. Overall, solely Ireland has performed fewer matches than India on this interval.
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In the final 12 months, that quantity has been diminished to simply six matches – three in Sri Lanka and three in opposition to England at dwelling this month. While Sri Lanka shattered India’s sequence streak over them, India had little hassle romping previous England.

With few ODIs to return on, selectors and staff administration had a tough time deciding the enjoying XI versus England. In the primary ODI, Harshit Rana performed over Arshdeep Singh regardless of the left-arm seamer being a part of the squad. Harshit, nonetheless, has made the journey to Dubai since Jasprit Bumrah’s damage.
The absence of Bumrah with a again damage is arguably the largest problem for India going into the Champions Trophy. “My concern is they [India] are going to miss Jasprit Bumrah, there is no doubt he will be a big absence and I think they will feel it very strongly,” wrote 2013 Champions Trophy winner Shikhar Dhawan in his column for the ICC.
“For me, he is the best bowler in the world, and his accuracy is hard to replicate. He is also a very calm character and that is crucial in a huge ICC event like this,” he added.

How do you discover a appropriate alternative for the Player of the Tournament within the T20 World Cup after which the Player of the Series within the Border-Gavaskar Trophy? By bringing within the highest wicket-taker from the ODI World Cup, for one.
After enjoying a prolonged will-he-won’t-he recreation on his return from a number of accidents, Mohammed Shami performed his first India recreation in 14 months this January. In the 4 matches – two T20Is and two ODIs – the returns have been modest. He’s posted figures of 0/25, 3/25, 1/38 and 1/66 within the 4 fixtures. Maybe, extra importantly, he hasn’t a health casualty. Even although he sported the brace in the course of the nets session in Dubai, the 34-year-old has bowled full tilt with out fuss.
Yet, there’s no clear indication whether or not he’ll fill proper again into the enjoying XI or will that place go to Harshit Rana. If kind is a sign, the 23-year-old put his title proper up the checklist with 3/33 within the T20I in opposition to England after which 3/53 in an ODI versus the identical opponents.
Dhawan has predicted Rana to have a “breakout tournament.”
“I like his attitude, he is a go-getter and he is not afraid of anything. He accepts challenges and we have seen in the England series that he is in form. I am sure he will look to seize this opportunity and, if he does, he could provide a real x-factor for India,” acknowledged the southpaw.
Solid batting lineup (ultimately)
After some horrible exhibits with the bat in opposition to New Zealand and Australia within the Test matches, India seemed like a well-oiled machine in opposition to England within the shorter codecs.
Shubman Gill, who slammed a ton in Ahmedabad, and Shreyas Iyer have been in good kind which helps the staff take away the dependency on the senior batters in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They, too, discovered runs within the ODI sequence. The India skipper produced 119 runs sandwiched between two single digit returns. Kohli, in the meantime, raised his bat after a half century in Ahmedabad.
At the highest of the order, the Rohit-Gill mixture has been a fruitful pairing for India. Since 2023, Rohit and Gill have made 1874 runs as a gap pair in 27 innings, averaging 72.07, together with six 100-plus and 11 fifty-plus stands
Presence of Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and KL Rahul down the order provides the staff the solidity it wants to provide huge totals.
India’s Champions Trophy 2025 schedule:

India’s Champions Trophy squad:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.