Following a rather bad ending to the Test season as the Indian team has lost six of their last eight Test matches, including the terrible home series against New Zealand 0-3, the Indian cricket boards will have to switch their attention to the upcoming one-day format with the ICC Champions Trophy. It is scheduled to start on February 19 in Pakistan, although India is likely to host their games in UAE.
The ICC has scheduled January 12 as the date by which players and teams are supposed to name their provisional squads for the Champions Trophy. Therefore, the 15-man squad for India can be expected to be declared by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee by the end of this week. The selectors and BCCI officials were to hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) at the Wankhede Stadium. This involves going over the just concluded Test series against Australia as well as looking forward to the white-ball series at home against England. Note that there is flexibility in changing the provisional squad up to 13 February, and that is provided by the ICC.
Rohit Sharma is expected to captain the side unless the selectors decide on a massive overhaul after this Australia series. The future of the vice-captaincy is uncertain, with Gill, Bumrah, and Pandya having been mentioned for consideration. Whereas Gill had been the deputy in the last series, Hardik was vice-captain in the 2023 ODI World Cup, and Bumrah’s captaincy brings in an extra facet.
Selectors are also keenly observing the players’ performances in the current Vijay Hazare trophy tournament, where some players are likely to make the Champions Trophy squad. Recent meetings suggest that KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, and Ravindra Jadeja might have dropped out from the team. Nevertheless, the two main heroes of the previous cycle, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, should remain key players for the Indian ODI batting assembly to build further upon for the next tournament.
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