Bumrah’s recovery uncertain; India name squads for England series, Champions Trophy 2025

India skipper Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar address the media at Wankhede on Saturday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Though pacer Jasprit Bumrah is yet to recover fully from the back spasm he suffered during the recent Sydney Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee picked him in the 15-member squad for the February 6-12 ODI series against England and Champions Trophy (February 19-March 9).

Fit-again pacer Mohammed Shami, who missed the BGT series Down Under due to a knee injury, also found a place for the England ODI series as well as in the Champions Trophy squad.

India lost their last Champions Trophy final to Pakistan at London in 2017 with Virat Kohli in charge.
Rohit Sharma, who led India to the T20 World Cup crown in the West Indies six months ago, will lead India's challenge in ODI cricket with top-order batter Shubman Gill as his deputy.

Big break for Jaiswal

Mumbai opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has represented country in 19 Tests and 23 T20Is, was picked in the ODI team for the first time. "We are waiting to hear about his [Bumrah] fitness and when he's likely to be available, so [Delhi pacer] Harshit Rana will be part of the one-day squad against England right now. At the moment, I don't think he's likely to be fit for the first couple of games [against England] at least from what we gather," Agarkar said during a press conference after selection committee meeting at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

"I know he was asked to offload for five weeks of bowling, which is early first week of February, if I'm not wrong. And hopefully, he's okay after that. So, we are very hopeful," Agarkar remarked.

When asked about the exclusion of experienced pacer Mohammed Siraj for a crucial tournament, Rohit explained: "We wanted to pick a squad where we have options of both, somebody to bowl with the new ball and somebody to bowl at the back end. Obviously, with Bumrah missing, we're not sure.

"We wanted [left-arm pacer] Arshdeep [Singh] to come and play that role of bowling at the back end and Shami, obviously we saw what he did with the new ball, and that is where we feel that Siraj's effectiveness comes down a little bit - if he's not going to take the new ball."

Focus on spin quartet

India have four spinners - wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, left-arm spinners Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja and off-spinner Washington Sundar. Except Kuldeep, the other three are good all-rounders too.

Vidarbha skipper Karun Nair, who scored 779 runs with the help of five centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy which concluded in Vadodara on Saturday, didn't find a place in India's ODI squad. Agarkar said: "Unfortunately, you can't fit everyone in. It's a squad of 15. But those performances certainly make you take notice."

On the same page

Meanwhile, Rohit clarified that he and head coach Gautam Gambhir are on the same page. "Both of us are very clear in what we want to do. I'm not going to sit here and discuss what goes behind every game tactically, but it's very clear in my mind [that] Gambhir is somebody… once we enter the field he trusts what the captain is doing on the field. Once we take the field, it's all about what I do on the field. That's the kind of trust we have in each other and that's how it should be," the captain stressed.

Also Read: Given Bumrah's fitness record, selection committee might not think of him as long-term Test captain

India squad for CT, England ODIs:
Rohit (captain), S Gill (vc), V Kohli, S Iyer, KL Rahul, H Pandya, Axar, W Sundar, K Yadav, J Bumrah, M Shami, Arshdeep, Y Jaiswal, R Pant, R Jadeja, H Rana (only for England series)