Indian men's team chief selector Ajit Agarkar officially revealed the squad for the ODI series against England and upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 at BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday, January 18.

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The squad was announced during the press conference presided over by Agarkar and Team India skipper Rohit Sharma. There were surprises in the selection, with an unexpected inclusion and exclusions that ignited debate among fans and experts alike. The exclusion of Mohammed Siraj and Sanju Samson became a topic of debate after the squad announcement, with many questioning BCCI selectors for dropping the former from the squad despite having a good record in the ODI cricket.

Amid the discussion on the squad, the fans and experts were left wondering about the delay in announcing the squad for the England ODIs as well as the Champions Trophy 2025. The press conference was supposed to start at 12:30 pm as per the media advisory released by the BCCI on the eve of the squad announcement. However, the squad announcement, followed up with a press conference, was delayed by two hours and started at 2:40 PM.

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Also read: Will Bumrah play in Champions Trophy 2025? Chief selector Agarkar provides BIG update on pacer's back injury

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and India captain Rohit Sharma arrived at the BCCI headquarters an hour before the press conference for the selection meeting. However, the meeting went on for too long which left fans and experts wondering about the delay. However, the reason has been revealed for the delay to announce the squad. As per the reports, the selection meeting went on for too long due to certain disagreements between captain Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir, who joined online. Gambhir was backing Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain, given his leadership experience. However, much to the disappointment of head coach, Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma decided to name Shubman Gill as the deputy captain.

Another disagreement came for the toss up between Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. Here as well, Gautam Gambhir wanted Sanju Samson in the squad. However, the selectors and Rohit Sharma preferred Rishabh Pant over Samson as first-choice wicketkeeper, with KL Rahul picked as the second-choice in the 15-member squad. It has been reported that the selectors, Rohit Sharma, and Gautam Gambhir were on the same page with regards to the exclusion of Mohammed Siraj and pick Arshdeep Singh. The prolonged meeting, which delayed the squad announcement, was due to the intense deliberations on the adding of certain players in the squad, including vice-captaincy and wicketkeeper roles.

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🗣️ We know what the quality they bring; the focus is completely Champions Trophy: Ajit Agarkar, Chairman, Men’s Selection Committee#TeamIndia | #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/yF31WNFfVW
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 18, 2025

The Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to take place from February 19 to March 9. India have been clubbed alongside Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand in Group A. The Men in Blue will begin their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20, followed by a match against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23. India will play their final group stage match against New Zealand on March 2. Team India will play all their matches at Dubai International Stadium.

India Champions Trophy squad

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja.

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