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Yashasvi Jaiswal, initially included in India’s provisional squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, has been dropped from the final 15-man squad, with spinner Varun Chakravarthy taking his place.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the change, also announcing that Jasprit Bumrah would miss the tournament due to a lower back injury, with Harshit Rana named as his replacement.
Reason behind dropping Yashasvi Jaiswal
Despite a strong List A record with 1526 runs in 33 games at an average of 52.62, Jaiswal’s ODI performance has not matched his success in Test and T20I formats. He made his ODI debut in the first match of the series against England but could not stand on the expectations and therefore, wasn’t given another chance. This lack of impactful performance in the 50-over format is a significant factor in the selectors’ decision.
However, the primary reason for Jaiswal’s exclusion is the established opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Both are in great form, and selectors decided to stick with them. Jaiswal’s inclusion would have meant disrupting this settled partnership.
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Recently, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra mentioned on his Youtube channel that Jaiswal might not be required, especially with India’s desire to maintain a left-right combination.
“The batting order is looking set. Rohit has started scoring runs. Shubman Gill is our vice-captain, and he is in good form. Virat Kohli will eventually return to form. Even if he doesn’t, god forbid, India are not going to drop him. Shreyas Iyer is at No. 4. At No. 5, whether it’s KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, or Axar Patel, the slot is settled. One of the two—Rahul and Pant—will have to be left out. And then you have an extra batter,” Chopra said.
“You might not require Yashasvi Jaiswal. That’s a possibility. You wanted to maintain a left-right, left-right combination in the batting order. Now, you won’t be able to do it. You have played your hand, and that has backfired,” he added.
Spin-heavy India squad
Selectors opted for a spin-heavy squad, leading to the inclusion of Chakravarthy. The 33-year-old mystery spinner, who also debuted in the ODI series against England, provided an x-factor as a wicket-taking option, which the team needed with Bumrah’s absence.
Bumrah had been under observation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, but failed to recover in time.
Spinners in the Indian squad for Champions Trophy 2025
- Axar Patel
- Washington Sundar
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Varun Chakravarthy
