Published 14:41 IST, January 25th 2025
Dissecting BCCI's Surprising Selection Calls For Champions Trophy 2025 Which Could Backfire On India During Marquee ICC Event
India start their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 20, 2025. India are scheduled to play all their matches in Dubai

Champions Trophy 2025: The Indian team is in shambles, the Indian dressing room is in shambles. These things can be said based on the reports of rifts in the Indian dressing room that emerged after the unfortunate Border-Gavaskar Trophy series loss in Australia. Are there egos clashing? Is Gautam Gambhir being too hard on the team? Nobody really has any concrete answer to it, but if one has to dissect the state of the Indian dressing room purely based on the recent results, then it is a sad state of affairs. India could win only one Test match in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, but that too came under the leadership of Jasprit Bumrah.
Rohit Sharma led the Indian Team in the next three Test matches, but unfortunately ended up on the losing side of things. Many believe that the coach and the captain are not on the same page. Youngsters are reportedly being publicly accused of leaking dressing room secrets. All in all, the Indian team looks divided, atleast on the outside. India do have a shot at redemption with the Champions Trophy just around the corner, but do the selection choices live up to the expectations? Let's try and dissect.
Injury Ridden Indian Bowling
Jasprit Bumrah was stacked with a herculean task of spearheading India's pace bowling in the recently culminated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. India's bowling looked as toothless as it could be, but it was Bumrah who kept on putting the hard yards, over after over, Test match after Test matches. At one point in time it did look like it was Bumrah vs Australia. This has a taken a toll on the pacer's body and he has reportedly developed a swelling on his back. Bumrah is unlikely to feature in the ODI series against England that will be played ahead of the Champions Trophy.
Bumrah's new ball bowling partner Mohammed Shami also is returning from an injury that lasted for more than 12 months. Shami has been picked in India's Champions Trophy squad, but right now he looks far from match fitness. The Bengal pacer has been training with Team India, but is yet to make his return to the field.
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India's woes not only revolve around their pace bowling, but the spin bowling also looks pretty weak. Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav too is returning from a serious injury and he is yet to play a match. Three out of four India's main bowlers are either injured or are recovering from an injury. As far as the pace department is concerned, both Bumrah and Shami are yet to prove their match fitness. If any of these bowlers pick up a niggle, it could go on and dent India's chances of winning the Champions Trophy.
India Start Champions Trophy Campaign Against Well-Known Rivals
The Champions Trophy will be played partly in Pakistan and partly in the UAE. India will play all their matches in Dubai and they kickstart their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20, 2025.
Updated 14:41 IST, January 25th 2025