India's Champions Trophy squad is likely to be announced on January 18 or 19. There is much speculation going on about who the chosen 15 will be. While the spots of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma look all but assured, there remains question marks on the availability of Jasprit Bumrah. The star fast bowler is recuperating from a back problem that surfaced during the India vs Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy. However, there is some good news as Mohammed Shami's return after a long injury-induced break is on the horizon, according to reports.
Ahead of the official Champions Trophy squad announcement, famous cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle picked his version of the side.
"I am pretty happy to go with the core of the ODI World Cup 2023. The only thing that concerns me is the extraordinary amount of attention that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have got in recent times, conversations about their future. But these two are bonafide greats in international cricket. I am going to make assumption, a sad assumption, two of India's best bowlers Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah will not be available due to injury. If they are available you can put them in," Bhogle said on his YouTube channel.
"Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as openers. I would like to see Yashasvi Jaiswal as an option available there. Then Virat Kohli. Shreyas Iyer. He's had a decent domestic season. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeepers. They can play as pure batters too at any position. Those are seven fantastic batters.
"Hardik Pandya walks into my side at No. 8. I am going with three quicks and three spinners. At the moment, I have Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar. all three left-handers too. I can't find a spot for Nitish Kumar Reddy in this set-up. For better wicket-taking skills, I have gone with Varun Chakravarthy as my 15th player."