ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant axed as Ex-India coach names India playing XI
Published - 19 Jan 2025, 01:25 PM | Updated - 19 Jan 2025, 01:30 PM
Former batting coach Sanjay Bangar has named India's playing XI for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match against Bangladesh. Sanjay Bangar picked Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah as his primary seamers, assuming both are fit and available, with Mohammed Shami as the backup seamer.
Mohammed Shami had right heel issues in the 2023 ODI World Cup. After the tournament, he underwent surgery and took a year-long break to recover. He missed major events such as the home Test series against England, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, IPL, and the T20 World Cup. Shami has now fully recovered.
Mohammed Shami Is Not a Starter for Me - Sanjay Bangar
During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Sanjay Bangar picked his preferred playing XI for the match against Bangladesh. He stated that if both Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah are fit, Mohammed Shami could be left out of the playing XI.
"You eliminate one of the fast bowlers. If Arshdeep and Bumrah are both available, then you can afford to leave out somebody like a Shami. So for me, Shami is not a starter," Bangar said.
After proving his fitness in domestic cricket for Bengal, Shami has been included in the squad for the five-match T20I series against England. He has also been included in the 15-member squad for the prestigious tournament. India will play their first match against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.
Rishabh Pant May Be on the Benches - Sanjay Bangar
The former India all-rounder said that either Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel might not make it into the final XI. Bangar emphasized that Rishabh Pant could find himself on the bench for India's Champions Trophy 2025 opener.
"Then one between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel and one reserve wicketkeeper. So in this case, Rishabh Pant may be on the benches," Bangar observed.
"My XI would be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh," he said.
He Has Gained Fitness and Is Ready to Bowl - Sanjay Bangar
During the interaction, Sanjay Bangar said that Ajit Agarkar was convinced of Mohammed Shami's fitness. Bangar noted that India's bowling attack appears strong with Shami's return, alongside Kuldeep Yadav. He highlighted Shami's consistent efforts across all three formats for his domestic team.
"The bowling looks really, really good with Shami back and Kuldeep back. Shami, for all you know, was working from one format to the other format, wherein he has played across three formats for his domestic team," he replied.
"So it is a clear indication that, over a period of time, he has gained fitness and is ready to bowl the number of overs that are required to be bowled with high intensity. So he should be playing most of the games right from the first game against England, and the more games that he plays, the better he gets, because that's what history suggests about Mohammed Shami," Bangar reasoned.
