India pick Jaiswal, drop Siraj in Champions Trophy squad
Bumrah is included in the 15, but selectors will wait till February 12 to see if he recovers from his back issue
Mumbai: India will wait as far as the tournament regulations permit to see if speedster Jasprit Bumrah regains match fitness after his back trouble for the Champions Trophy (February 19 to March 9). The ace pacer was picked, subject to fitness, in India’s 15-player squad by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee that met at BCCI’s Mumbai headquarters on Saturday.

As reported earlier, it is hoped that Bumrah can play the last of the three ODIs against England on February 12, prove his match fitness and take the flight to Dubai, where India will play their matches in the Pakistan-hosted tournament.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj was a surprise exclusion, with India going in with four spinners, three specialist pacers and a pace-bowling all-rounder in Hardik Pandya. Siraj, who had come for praise from head coach Gautam Gambhir for the “outstanding efforts” he put in during the Australia Test series and played the entire 2023 ODI World Cup (11 matches, 14 wkts, ER 5.68) missed out.
“We wanted to pick a squad where we have options of somebody to bowl with the new ball and at the back end,” Rohit said. “Obviously, with Bumrah, we’re not sure. We wanted Arshdeep to come and play that role of bowling at the back end and Shami, we saw what he did with the new ball, and that is where we feel that Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a little bit if he’s not going to take the new ball.”
Siraj though could have been picked as cover for Bumrah. Instead, young pacer Harshit Rana, who Rohit said has “shown the potential that he’s got something about him”, has been named for the England ODIs, which will serve as dress-rehearsal for Champions Trophy. It is learnt that Harshit would step in if Bumrah doesn’t recover in time.
Four spinners
India’s spin combination, tactically, mirrors the one picked for the 2024 T20 World Cup – the squad is stacked with spin all-rounders. Rohit suggested he wanted as many all-round options as possible and the cupboard of proper seam all-rounders was bare. The four spinners picked – Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel – can “cover all bases”.
India will be the only team that will play all matches, including the semis and the final if they qualify, in Dubai. The other seven teams are playing across three venues in Pakistan –
Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and New Zealand are in Group A. India are banking on pitches in Dubai to be slow due to wear-and-tear after the recent ILT20 action.
The India skipper tried to put on a brave front. His body language suggested that he had put the disappointment of the recent Test setbacks behind him, showing more of a swagger that belonged to the man who led India to the T20 World Cup success last year, and to the ODI World Cup final in November 2023.
It is almost certain that joining Rohit at the top of the order will be Shubman Gill, who has been named vice-captain. Left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, picked in the ODI squad for the first time, will act as cover with the rest of the batting line-up – Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya – automatic picks.
Karnataka’s in-form Karun Nair – he finished with 779 runs in eight 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy matches – missed out. “We did have a chat, no doubt about it, when those kinds of performances happen,” Agarkar said. “At the moment, to find spot in this team is very difficult. I mean, look at the guys who’ve been picked. All average well in excess of mid-40s.
“These guys have been exceptional performers in one-day cricket. We haven’t had one-day cricket at all, what, three games in Sri Lanka and a little bit in South Africa early in the year,” he said. “We reached the World Cup final that we played, last. We know the quality that these guys bring and the experience they bring.”
Pant over Samson
The one point in the selection meet was over the second wicketkeeper’s slot. Sanju Samson, who hit a hundred in his last ODI against South Africa, has an impressive ODI record (510 runs, avg 56.66). But most of Samson’s runs have come across staggered ODI outings and he could not push his case above Rishabh Pant. And Pant being one of only two left-handers in the squad who can bat in the top six may also have tipped the scales in his favour.
