NEW DELHI: The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has expressed confidence in India’s chances at the ICC Champions Trophy despite Jasprit Bumrah‘s absence from the team.
The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar has named Harshit Rana as Bumrah’s replacement. Mohammad Shami will lead the pace attack alongside Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya.
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“We have picked the best team for the Champions Trophy. And I believe we will win the trophy. India have such a big bench strength, and I don’t think it (Jasprit Bumrah’s absence) will have any major issue with the team combination,” Saikia told IANS on Friday.
India’s senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have shown good form recently. Rohit scored a century in the second ODI against England, while Kohli made a half-century in the final ODI. India won the ODI series 3-0 and the T20I series 4-1.
“Everything is very positive in the team (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back in form); see the England series; the results are in front of you. The conditions will be more or less the same in Dubai, like the Indian conditions. India came out in such a good manner (against England) with a series whitewash in ODIs and a 4-1 win in T20Is. The morale and spirit of the team is at the highest level,” Saikia added.
The Indian team will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20. They will then face Pakistan on February 23, followed by a match against New Zealand on March 2.
India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy
- Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.