New Delhi: Rohit Sharma-led India will look to get off to a winning start when they take on Bangladesh in their opening game of the Champions Trophy 2025 on Thursday, February 19. India will be riding high on confidence having clean swept England 3-0 in the recently concluded three-match ODI series at home and will be hoping to continue the winning momentum against Bangladesh.
The much-anticipated clash between India and Bangladesh will be played at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. The Men in Blue will be playing all their matches in the UAE after the BCCI refused to allow the Indian team to travel to Pakistan for the multi-nation tournament. The match will be a crucial one for India as nearly every game in group-stage is imperative to qualify for the knockout stage.
With all 4 teams in the group playing only three matches each and the top two qualifying for the next stage, India would like to start with a victory and continue the momentum in the remainder of the tournament. Rohit & Co. have a settled batting line-up that fired during the England series at home and the team management will be wary of making any changes as it might disturb the team combination.
However, India will have to ponder up their bowling combination in the absence of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. With the spinners expected to draw help from the conditions in Dubai, India are likely to play only two specialist pacers against Bangladesh. With Mohammed Shami likely to be an automatic selection, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana will be battling for the remaining one spot.
Arshdeep Singh or Harshit Rana who will make the cut?
Rana made his ODI debut for India in the England series and played all three matches while Arshdeep was included in the playing XI for only one game. While Rana picked up six wickets in 3 matches, Arshdeep picked up a couple of wickets in the only game he played in the series. Rana, who has been backed by the team management of late, was included in the squad as Bumrah’s replacement.
However, the team management might want to go with Arshdeep, who has been a prolific wicket-taker in T20Is and has done reason reasonably well in ODIs with 14 wickets in 9 matches at an economy of just over 5. Arshdeep is also far more experienced compared to Rana, who has fast-tracked into the Indian team after doing well for KKR in IPL 2024 last year.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav is likely to pip Varun Chakaravarthy in the spin department as the left-arm Chinaman spinner offers more variety and has a big match pedigree. However, the team management might be tempted to keep Chakaravarthy in the mix with two left-arm spinners – Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel likely to be in the XI.
India’s predicted playing XI for Bangladesh clash:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
India will take on Bangladesh in their opening game of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. Here is a look at India’s predicted XI for the match. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
