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Not Mohammed Shami: Suresh Raina predicts THIS ‘Mystery’ player within India’s Playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025
In an interaction with Star Sports, Suresh Raina predicted India's ideal playing XI for the Champions Trophy 2025. He did not go with Mohammed Shami to lead the bowling lineup, but picked Arshdeep Singh along with Kuldeep Yadav, calling his spin bowling skills to be mysterious.
Last Updated on - February 17, 2025 7:06 PM IST
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is going to hosted by Pakistan Cricket Board, and will begin February 19 in a hybrid model. In this tournament, India will play their matches in Dubai, as BCCI had denied sending the Men in Blue to the neighboring nation amid security concerns.
Indian squad for the tournament has already been announced, where star pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be absent from the team because of a back injury. In the absence of Bumrah, the bowling attack will be led by senior pacer Mohammed Shami.
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In an interaction with Star Sports, Suresh Raina made a prediction about India’s playing XI for the Champions Trophy 2025, where even Shami has not been given a place. Raina has picked the duo of Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, highlighting the presence of Hardik Pandya as the third seamer.
Suresh stated that Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja bowl stump to stump and can do well in middle overs, while Kuldeep can bring his mysterious spin, particularly against Pakistan. Raina even stated that since New Zealand has lot of left-handers, Kuldeep can create a pressure which might lead to wickets.
However, contrary to Suresh’s predictions, Indian selectors might go with Varun Chakravarthy over Kuldeep Yadav. Though Varun has only played a single ODI match, he has performed brilliantly for the team in the recently-concluded T20I and OFI series against England.
Another pick contrary to that of Suresh Raina’s prediction is opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal being picked over KL Rahul. Though Jaiswal has a significantly less record as compared to wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul in ODI format, Jaiswal has better numbers in terms of average and strike rates, and aggression.
Suresh Raina’s prediction on India’s playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.