The India cricket team’s XI for the ICC Champions Trophy looks set. After bashing England 3-0, both the batting and bowling look sorted out, despite Jasprit Bumrah getting ruled out. It doesn’t seem like captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir will have to make any changes for the Men in Blue’s match against Bangladesh on February 20.
No place for Rishabh Pant
Kevin Pietersen has basically named Team India’s XI for the first two ODIs. He thinks there is no need to change the batting order, especially after both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli got into form against England.
“One thing they’ll be happy is that Virat Kohli got runs today. So Rohit got runs. Gill, Shreyas…it’s a pretty formidable start, I tell you that. I want KL Rahul at 5 because I want him to face many balls he got. He came in today with 17 overs to go. And when you come in with more time, you can build it. I don’t think KL Rahul is the guy that comes in with three overs to go and hits you 30 or 12 balls. Rahul is the kind of guy that needs to get himself in one-day cricket. The best chance to give him that time is to bat him at 5,” Pietersen told Star Sports.
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Harshit Rana & Varun Chakravarthy to sit out
When it comes to bowling, the former English batter doesn’t think that Harshit Rana, who played all three matches, deserves a place in the ICC Champions Trophy. He instead picks Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami over the young pacer. As for spinners, he doesn’t have Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar in the XI either.
“Chakravarthy’s been very good, but I think Kuldeep has been very good in terms of what he’s produced and the numbers that he’s produced. I like the left-arm seamer, so that’s why Arshdeep starts for me. You’ve got your three seamers there. Shami, Arshdeep and Hardik. Then you’ve got Jadeja, who’s always my first pick. So Jadeja and the rest, Kuldeep and Axar,” Pietersen added.
Kevin Pietersen’s India Playing XI for Champions Trophy
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav
Bench: Rishabh Pant (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana
