The Champions Trophy 2025 is right around the corner with teams gearing up to face each other and stake their claim on the coveted trophy. Before the coveted ICC tournament begins, almost all teams are suffering several injury concerns with several key players set to miss the tournament. The Indian team’s situation has not been any different in this regard. The team had to readjust and tweak its squad to balance the team dynamics due to numerous key players being unavailable. However, not everyone is happy with the kind of squad India has chosen for the much-anticipated ICC tournament. Amidst growing skepticism, Ravichandran Ashwin has now voiced his concern regarding the team selection.
Ashwin raises concern over India’s selection strategy for the Champions Trophy
Ashwin raised concerns over the logic behind India‘s squad selection for the upcoming Champions Trophy, particularly the inclusion of five spinners at the expense of a key player like Yashasvi Jaiswal. India’s young batting sensation was initially part of the provisional squad but was later omitted to make way for mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. He has now been relegated to the non-traveling substitutes list alongside Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube.
Speaking on his YouTube show ‘Ash ki Baat,’ Ashwin expressed his surprise at the decision, citing recent conditions in Dubai, which have not favoured spin as much. He referenced the ILT20 tournament as an example, questioning whether selecting so many spinners was the right call. Ashwin’s remarks highlight concerns about the balance of the squad and whether the selectors have misread the pitch conditions, potentially weakening India’s batting depth in a crucial tournament.
“What I don’t understand is the number of spinners we are taking to Dubai. Five spinners, and we have made Yashasvi Jaiswal sit out. Yeah, I understand taking three or four spinners for a tour. But five in Dubai? I don’t know. I think we are one spinner too many, if not two, I don’t think there is any doubt that Kuldeep Yadav will walk into the team. So how will you make space for Varun? Is he bowling well? Of course. Either you bring in Varun and Kuldeep as a duo, which I feel would be good. But my question is, in Dubai, are you expecting the ball to turn? In the recently held ILT20, we saw that the ball was not turning that much in Dubai and teams were chasing 180-run totals with ease. I feel a bit uncomfortable with this team,” Ashwin remarked.
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Ashwin shocked at Yashasvi Jaiswal’s exclusion
Ashwin further voiced his bewilderment over the omission of young opener Jaiswal, implying that the decision has left him perplexed. Jaiswal was widely expected to be a key member of the Champions Trophy squad. His exclusion from the final squad has raised eyebrows, especially given his promising form and potential to provide solidity at the top of the order.
“I am honestly glad that I am not in a position of explaining things to Yashasvi Jaiswal. If I was the coach or captain, what would I even tell him? I raise this question many times – what message are you sending to a player? Yashasvi was bringing water for the players. I was thinking, what would be going on in his mind? He would have been happy that he would be in the Champions Trophy team. And now suddenly he is not in the team. It’s the same for anybody who misses out,” the former Indian off-spinner concluded.
India are set to play their group stage fixtures of the Champions Trophy with their opening encounter against Bangladesh, followed by a clash against arch-rivals Pakistan and their last match against New Zealand.
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