Led by Rohit Sharma, the squad received criticism from several Indian cricketers for leaving some players out of the India squad.
While several mentioned and lamented the absence of pacer Mohammed Siraj, former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has questioned the decision to leave out wicketkeeping batter Sanju Samson and leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.
“Truly, I feel bad for him [Sanju Samson]. He scores runs but he is dropped. I know you can only select 15, but I feel his batting suits the format. He has an average of 55-56, but he isn’t even there as a second wicketkeeper. When we talk about selecting him, people ask, in whose place? Places can be made,” the former India spinner said in an interview with an Indian media outlet.
Harbhajan Singh also criticized the decision to drop Yuzvendra Chahal from the India squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.
“Sanju isn’t there. Yuzvendra Chahal isn’t there, too. You’ve picked four spinners, two of them are left-farmers. You could’ve included a leg-spinner for variation, too. Chahal is a superb bowler. I don’t know what wrong he did, that he doesn’t fit in this team,” Harbhajan Singh said.
India is placed in Group A of the Champions Trophy 2025 alongside Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh.
They will play all their games in Dubai, with the first group match set for February 20 against Bangladesh.
India will then face archrivals Pakistan on February 23, followed by their last group game against New Zealand on March 2.
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