New Delhi: Yashasvi Jaiswal was handed his maiden ODI call-up while Mohammed Shami made his much-awaited comeback as India announced their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 on Saturday, January 18. Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is currently recovering from a back injury, was also included in the squad with optimism surrounding his return in time for the multi-nation tournament.
There were no major surprises as India named a strong squad for the ICC event, retaining the majority of their core from the 2023 ODI World Cup where they enjoyed a dominant run to the final. However, some prominent names missed out on a spot in the final 15 as they missed the bus to Dubai for the Champions Trophy.
Wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson was snubbed from the squad despite having done well in white-ball cricket for India recently. Meanwhile, Karun Nair failed to find a spot despite having enjoyed a stellar run for Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he has dominated the run-scoring charts without getting dismissed in the tournament even once.
A look at big names missing from India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad:
Sanju Samson
Ahead of the squad announcement, multiple reports suggested that Sanju Samson might not feature in the final 15 as he didn’t play for Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. As it turned out, Samson failed to make the cut despite having done well in white-ball cricket in the recent past. Samson slammed a brilliant knock of 108 runs in his last ODI appearance for India against South Africa in Paarl.
He also smashed two centuries in the T20I series against the Proteas in South Africa but was overlooked as the selectors preferred Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the two wicket-keepers in the squad. Samson is part of India’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against England at home and will be hoping to continue his fine form to keep the selection door in case there is an injury situation ahead of the Champions Trophy which gets underway on February 20.
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj’s absence in the Champions Trophy squad came as a surprise to many as the right-arm pacer has been one of the mainstays in India’s pace attack across formats over the last few years. Siraj was expected to make the cut in the squad alongside Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. However, the selectors gave the nod to Arshdeep Singh.
Siraj had a mixed campaign in the recently concluded Test series against Australia where he picked up 20 wickets in 5 matches at an average of over 31. Explaining the decision to not pick Siraj, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said the pacer’s effectiveness with the old ball was questionable thus they wanted to pick Arshdeep in the squad.
Karun Nair
Despite having set the Vijay Hazare Trophy on fire with his sensational run, Karun Nair failed to convince the selectors to hand him an India recall after eight years. Nair was snubbed from the Champions Trophy 2025 squad despite being the highest run-getter in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 752 runs from 8 matches at a stunning average of 752.
Nair is yet to be dismissed in the tournament so far and has been piling on runs at an incredible consistency. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar lauded Nair for his impressive show in the premier 50-over domestic tournament but insisted there was no place for the 33-year-old in the 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy.
Varun Chakaravarthy
Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy was also reportedly on the selectors’ radar for the Champions Trophy 2025. However, he was not picked in the final 15 as Kuldeep Yadav was selected as the lone specialist spinner with Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar getting picked as the three spin all-rounders in the squad.
Chakaravarthy played an instrumental role in helping Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lift the IPL 2024 title last year with 21 wickets in 15 matches. He also did well for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 with 18 wickets at an excellent average of 12.72, including two fifers. Chakaravarthy is currently the 2nd leading wicket-taker in the tournament, behind Arshdeep.
Nitish Reddy
Young all-rounder Nitish Reddy emerged as a strong contender to make the cut in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy after enjoying an impressive campaign in the Australia Test series where he finished as India’s second-highest run-getter with 298 runs from five matches. Reddy has already made his T20I debut for India and was expected to be fast-tracked into ODIs.
His inclusion would have given India an ideal back-up for Hardik Pandya in the squad. However, the selectors decided to go with Washington Sundar as the 4th all-rounder considering the spin-friendly conditions in Dubai.
Some prominent names missed a spot as India announced their 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 on Saturday, January 18. Here is a look some of the big misses from India’s Champions Trophy squad. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
