New Delhi: Team India will be looking to sweep the disappointment from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss aside and regroup again as they shift focus on the all-important Champions Trophy 2025 which is scheduled to get underway next month. India will take on England in a white-ball series at home before the Champions Trophy 2025 which will act as a dress rehearsal for the hosts ahead of the showpiece event in the UAE.
India are scheduled to play 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs against England and will be hoping to utilise the ODI series to fine-tune their preparations for the Champions Trophy. The England ODI series will be a chance for head coach Gautam Gambhir and the Indian team management to test the team combinations and the players that are in the fray for the premier multi-nation tournament.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel is expected to announce India’s squads for the England ODI series and the Champions Trophy simultaneously by the end of this week as the majority of the players featuring in both squads are likely to be the same, barring a few exceptions. While the Indian team is fretting over the fitness of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, they also have to solve the wicket-keeping conundrum.
KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant will be battling it out for the first-choice wicket-keeper’s choice in India’s playing XI in the Champions Trophy 2025 and it remains to be seen who will get the nod from head coach Gambhir. Both Pant and Rahul are expected to make the cut in the squad for the Champions Trophy but only one of them will get the nod in the playing XI.
England ODI series will be important for Rahul and Pant
Both Rahul and Pant were selected in India’s squad for their last PDI assignment against Sri Lanka last year. Rahul was picked ahead of Pant and played the first two matches before getting replaced by the left-hander for the final ODI. Both batters bat at no.5 but offer a different skill set with their style of batting.
The England ODI series will be an important one for both Rahul and Pant as their performances in the series will decide who will pip whom in the race to become India’s first-choice keeper-batter for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Talking about their record in Dubai where India will play all their matches in the tournament, Pant has never played an ODI at the venue while Rahul scored 60 runs in his only ODI appearance at the venue which came against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in 2018.
Rahul or Pant – Who will Gambhir pick?
The decision of whom to pick between Pant and Rahul will be down to head coach Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma. Both Rahul and Pant have been proven performers for Team India. However, Pant will have an edge over Rahul considering his ‘x-factor’ which is his ability to up the ante whenever required. Rahul, on the other hand, will offer more stability to India’s batting line-up.
KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant will be battling it out for the first-choice wicket-keeper’s slot for Team India ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. India head coach Gautam Gambhir will have to make the difficult call of picking between Pant and Rahul for the wicket-keeper batter’s slot. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
