India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday defended picking five spinners in the Champions Trophy squad, saying three of them are all-rounders who add a lot of value to his team.
The highly anticipated 2025 ICC Champions Trophy is now underway, and India, one of the tournament favourites, will open their Group A campaign against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.
Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav are the two specialists spinners while the other options in that department are Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, who all are very capable batters.
The spin-heavy side has three fast-bowling options in the form of Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana with Hardik Pandya being the sole pace all-rounder.
“There only two spinners, the rest are all-rounders. They can bat and bowl,” said Rohit when asked about the spin heavy composition of the side.
“We play to our strengths. The three all-rounders give a different dimension to the squad, they add a lot to the squad. We wanted to have players with two skills rather than one,” said Rohit ahead of the tournament opener against Bangladesh in Dubai.
On the event taking place after eight years, Rohit added: “It is a very important tournament like all ICC events are. We have to do lot of things right to hold the trophy.”
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto is confident that his team will excel in all departments of the game.
Shanto believes that all eight participating teams are strong.
“If you look at all eight teams, they are quality sides. We have good memories against India, Pakistan and New Zealand, having won a few matches in recent times. Last year, when we played India in Bangladesh, we had some great moments.
“But that is in the past. If we play well tomorrow and execute our plans, we will have a good match.”
Shanto also expressed confidence in his all-rounders.
“All-rounders always bring balance to the team, and we have some good ones. I hope they will perform well tomorrow and contribute to the team’s success.”
A strong start against Bangladesh would boost India’s confidence ahead of their upcoming fixtures against Pakistan and New Zealand. Dubai has not been kind to India in past ICC events, but Thursday’s match offers a chance for a turnaround.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Bangladesh: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, MD Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.
Match Details:
On-field umpires: Adrian Holdstock and Paul Reiffel
TV umpire: Richard Illingworth
Fourth umpire: Michael Gough
Match Referee: David Boon
Time: The match will begin at 2:30pm IST
Where to watch: The match will be broadcast on Star Sports Network and livestreamed on JioHotstar.
