The Indian squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 has been announced. The selectors have made minimal changes to the team that reached the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Most of the players remain the same. However, a lot has changed since then, but the selectors have once again placed their trust in their experienced players. Reactions from former cricketers and politicians are now emerging on the selected squad. Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Aakash Chopra have all shared their opinions. Harbhajan has questioned the relevance of domestic cricket, while Pathan and Aakash have highlighted the weaknesses in the squad.
Harbhajan Singh
Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh has criticized the selectors for not including Karun Nair. He took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and wrote,
“When you don’t select players based on their form and performance, then what’s the point of playing domestic cricket? #KarunNair.”
Karun Nair was in excellent form during the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 779 runs, including five centuries, and remained not out six times.
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan shared his views on X in four key points:
- The team could have included one more fast bowler, considering that some selected players have a history of injuries.
- Shubman Gill is on the right path for captaincy, having had an outstanding year in ODIs.
- Mohammed Siraj might have been excluded due to workload management, despite having strong ODI stats.
- If he were Sanju Samson, he would have been deeply disappointed. The selectors should have also considered Nitesh Kumar Reddy.
Aakash Chopra
Former opener Aakash Chopra also focused on bowling concerns in his analysis. On X, he pointed out the weak bowling attack, saying:
“Only three fast bowlers have been selected, two of whom have fitness concerns, while the third is not a regular ODI bowler for India. For a tournament in Dubai in late February or early March, I would have preferred Mohammed Siraj over a spin all-rounder.”
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Yograj Singh
Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj Singh, has also commented on India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad. He believes that the selection was done correctly and specifically praised Punjab players Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma. He called Shubman Gill the future captain of India and advocated for Abhishek Sharma’s inclusion in the team.
Shashi Tharoor
Following Sanju Samson’s exclusion from the Indian team, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor blamed the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). He accused KCA of dropping Samson from the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, which he believes ultimately led to his non-selection in the Indian team.
On X, Tharoor wrote:
“The tragic tale of Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson. Samson had informed KCA in advance about his unavailability for a training camp between the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Yet, he was immediately dropped from Kerala’s squad. As a result, he has now been left out of the Indian team.”
Tharoor further added:
“A batsman with a highest score of 212* in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and an ODI average of 56.66 for India, including a century against South Africa, is now seeing his career ruined by cricket administrators’ egos. Doesn’t it bother KCA officials that by dropping Sanju, they ensured Kerala couldn’t even reach the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinals? Where does this decision lead them?”