Arshdeep Singh was believed to be a starter as soon as Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out. Yet when the time came for India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, the left-arm pacer wasn’t on the team sheet. Instead of him, it was Harshit Rana who was partnering Mohammed Shami.
Shami in, Arshdeep Singh out
After losing the toss, Rohit Sharma stated that they were making a couple of changes from the last ODI they played. Ravindra Jadeja, who was rested in the game, returned for Washington Sundar, and Shami was coming. But it was rather shocking to hear who Shami was coming in for. “Arshdeep misses, and Shami comes back,” the Indian captain told Ravi Shastri.
For years, left-arm pacers like Trent Boult and Shaheen Afridi have tormented Team India in ICC events, and yet when they finally got a good southpaw quick, they chose to bench him. ODI cricket now requires variety, and benching Arshdeep means that Bangladesh will have to face two right-arm pacers. Yes, they have different attributes, but they can’t give you the angle that Arshdeep gives.
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Gambhir showing KKR bias feat Harshit Rana?
One can’t forget that Harshit played under current Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season when he was the mentor. We have seen coaches and captains back certain players, but with Gambhir, it seems like a common occurrence.
When Harshit wasn’t given a T20I debut cap, it was speculated that Gambhir wanted KKR to retain him as an uncapped player before the IPL 2025 auction. Then he was surprisingly picked in India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). He even played over Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna, despite having played just 10 first-class matches.
But this is bigger. This is an ICC event we are talking about. Yes, Harshit has done well in limited opportunities in ODI, having made his debut earlier this month. But to make him play over Arshdeep, who also played the entire Vijay Hazare Trophy as well and is in great rhythm, makes no sense from a tactical point of view.
India’s Playing XI vs Bangladesh
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Harshit Rana
Bench: Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy
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