ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh set to make return

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to announce the Indian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to be played in February and March. White-ball specialists, including Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh, are likely to make it into the squad for the tournament.

India is now shifting their focus to the upcoming white-ball series against England and the Champions Trophy 2025. The selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, will soon finalize the squads. It is expected that the players selected for the Champions Trophy will also feature in the ODIs against England.

Rohit Sharma to Lead Indian Team in Champions Trophy 2025

Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team, with Jasprit Bumrah as his deputy. The senior selection committee will soon meet to finalize the squads for the upcoming home series against England and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

Ajit Agarkar, who has been in Australia with the Test squad, along with coach Gautam Gambhir, will start the discussions on the white-ball assignments. Teams must submit their provisional 15-member squads by January 12, with the option to make changes until February 13, ahead of the tournament's start.

"All teams need to submit their provisional squads by January 12 but (are) allowed to make changes till February 13. It is up to the teams whether they want to announce the squad or not as the International Cricket Council (ICC) will release the submitted squads only on February 13," said an ICC official.

Champions Trophy-Bound Players Expected to Feature in Three ODIs Against England

According to a Times of India report, Champions Trophy-bound players are expected to play in the three ODIs against England ahead of the tournament, with Jasprit Bumrah possibly being the only exception.

Team India’s most recent 50-over series was against Sri Lanka in August 2024, where the senior players, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, were all part of the playing XI for the three-match series in Sri Lanka.

Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh Set to Return for Champions Trophy

The report added that the team will see the return of key white-ball players like Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh. This will create a selection dilemma for the committee due to the abundance of talent.

Shreyas Iyer has been in excellent form in domestic cricket, while Hardik Pandya has been impressive in T20Is and has played three List A matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Baroda. Arshdeep Singh also played for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Shreyas Iyer has been in exceptional form in domestic cricket. The 30-year-old recently scored his 14th List A century, and his second in Mumbai's VHT 2024-25 campaign. He started the tournament with an unbeaten 114 against Karnataka. He has scored 325 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 131.57.

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