ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul dropped from India's CT squad picked by Harbhajan Singh

India's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy is yet to be announced but the speculations are constantly growing about the players to be selected. Amidst all these speculations, legendary offspinner Harbhajan Singh has picked his Indian squad for the tournament.

In a huge surprise, Harbhajan dropped two key players who are still expected to play in the tournament. Those two players are Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. While Harbhajan Singh picked the legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal over Jadeja, he didn't go for KL Rahul, who has been one of the best performers for India in the format.

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Harbhajan Singh picks India's squad for Champions Trophy

The squad looks experienced and is capable enough of handling tough situations. It will be led by Rohit Sharma, who is on the frontline to lead the team in the tournament as well. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the other openers in the squad with Gill being the frontrunner to open alongside his captain.

The middle order looks solid with Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy have been picked as the fast bowling allrounders while Axar Patel is the only spin bowling allrounder in the squad. Surprisingly, KL Rahul has been omitted despite an excellent record in ODIs for India as the wicketkeeper.

The fast bowling looks in good shape with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj being the three frontline pacers. However, the fitness of Bumrah is yet to be considered as there is no update on his recovery yet.

Kuldeep Yadav is the frontline spinner while Yuzvendra Chahal also finds a place in the squad ahead of the allrounder Ravindra Jadeja or any other fast bowler. Chahal hasn't played in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy too and Harbhajan surprised everyone by picking him in his squad.

Harbhajan Singh reveals his Indian squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025! 🇮🇳🏆

What are your thoughts on his picks? Would you make any changes to the lineup? 🤔📝#India #RohitSharma #ChampionsTrophy #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/Kq8LddXZVC

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 13, 2025

Harbhajan Singh picks Sanju Samson over Rishabh Pant

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh revealed that only one wicketkeeper will be picked out of Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant. He backed Samson over Pant because of his exploits in the ODI series in South Africa in 2023.

"I think one among Sanju Samson or Rishabh Pant should be picked. I feel Sanju should be preferred because he had played in South Africa. Rishabh played well in Australia, but it was a long tour, so if he is rested, it's not a big thing," Harbhajan Singh said.

Sanju Samson has been in terrific white-ball form for India recently. He struck two consecutive hundreds against Bangladesh and South Africa while opening the batting. Overall, he struck three hundreds in T20Is, which includes two against South Africa and one against Bangladesh.

Samson has an excellent ODI record as well. The 30-year-old has scored 510 runs in 16 matches at an average of 56.66. On the other hand, Pant hasn't played white-ball cricket. since the series against Sri Lanka in July 2024.

Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja

Harbhajan Singh also picked Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja in his squad. He feels that Axar is experienced enough to replace Ravindra Jadeja in the white-ball format after his performances in T20Is over the last few months.

"I have chosen Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja. I think Axar is ready to fulfil the role that Jadeja has done for so many years," he added.

India will play all its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai after the Indian government denied permission for the team to travel to Pakistan. The Men in Blue have been grouped with Bangladesh, New Zealand, and hosts Pakistan in Group A.