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With the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 less than a week away, former India cricketer Suresh Raina recently predicted India’s playing XI for the marquee tournament. However, this comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named India’s updated squad for the ICC event, set to get underway in Pakistan and the UAE from February 19.
In a notable move, BCCI confirmed Jasprit Bumrah’s unavailability for the 50-over tournament, and the men’s selection committee named Harshit Rana as his replacement. Furthermore, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was initially named in the preliminary squad was also snubbed of a place with Varun Chakravarthy replacing him.
Suresh Raina predicts India’s Playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025
Ahead of the marquee event, Raina while speaking on Star Sports named India’s probable XI. In a shocking move, he left experienced players in KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami after both failed to make much of an impact in the England ODI series. Apart from them, all-rounder Washington Sundar and spin sensation Varun Chakravarthy also failed to make to his XI.
However, the former Indian cricketer felt that Kuldeep Yadav will play an important role, given his ability to create pressure and pick wickets. "Kuldeep Yadav is going to be very important because Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja contain well in the middle overs, bowling stump to stump; and then Kuldeep can bring in his mystery spin, particularly against Pakistan who play the sweep shot well...New Zealand have a lot of left-handers. The kind of pressure Kuldeep can create and force the batters to go for the big shot, it can lead to wickets," Raina said on Star Sports.
Suresh Raina's predicted playing XI
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav.
India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
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.
