Courtesy: Google
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh shared his insights on the Indian squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Notably, the BCCI has a lot of options to choose from to build a squad for the upcoming tournament, which is scheduled to be played from February 19 to March 9 in Pakistan and the UAE. The former cricketer believes that Sanju Samson should be preferred over Rishabh Pant as a wicket-keeper batter in the Champions Trophy.
Sanju Samson has shown great form in the white ball formats for India in the last 15 months or so. The right-hander ended up getting three T20I hundreds in 2024. Apart from that, Samson also had a hundred in the last ODI match he played for India in December 2023. "I think one among Sanju Samson or Rishabh Pant should be picked. I feel Sanju should be preferred because he had played in South Africa. Rishabh played well in Australia, but it was a long tour, so if he is rested, it's not a big thing," Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by CricTracker.
I think Axar is ready to fulfil Jadeja’s role: Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh also suggested that Axar Patel should be picked in India’s Champions Trophy squad over Ravindra Jadeja. The legendary spinner feels that Axar is ready to fill Jadeja’s shoes in the white-ball format with his all-round abilities. Axar Patel also played a crucial role in India’s 2024 T20 World Cup win with his all-rounder performances. On the other hand, Jadeja hasn’t been included in India’s ODI squad after the 2023 ODI World Cup, and also retired from the T20Is after the T20 World Cup last year.
"I have chosen Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja. I think Axar is ready to fulfil the role that Jadeja has done for so many years," Harbhajan Singh said.
