Indian Cricket Team 15-member squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Predicted

The Indian Cricket Team will play Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Group A.

After winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, the Indian cricket team will be aiming to dominate another ICC tournament when they play the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

While Pakistan are the hosts of this competition, all of India’s matches will be played in Dubai, including the knockouts if they reach it.

The Indian cricket team played only three ODI matches in 2024 – in Sri Lanka, where they lost the series 0-2 – as ODI cricket had taken a backseat last year. They will play a three-match ODI series against England at home before heading to Dubai.

Let’s see how India could lineup a 15-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Predicted India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

1. Rohit Sharma (C)

While Rohit Sharma has struggled in test cricket recently, he remains a beast in white-ball cricket. Having played a starring role as a batsman and captain in India’s success in the last two ICC events, Rohit will be hoping to return to his absolute best as a batsman in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

If he fails to deliver with the bat and as a leader, this could likely be the last ICC tournament for the 37-year-old.

2. Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill has been India’s first-choice ODI opener since 2023. However, since the start of the World Cup 2023, he’s managed a mediocre average of 38 in 12 ODIs.

With the uncapped Yashasvi Jaiswal breathing down his neck, Gill needs to produce innings of significance against England and in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Trophy to hold on to his spot.

3. Virat Kohli

Hailed as arguably the greatest ODI batsman of all-time, Virat Kohli had a bumper World Cup 2023, where he amassed 765 runs. However, he faltered in the three ODIs in Sri Lanka on spin-friendly pitches.

Nonetheless, Kohli remains a key cog in the ODI line-up. And his vulnerabilities outside the off-stump in test cricket don’t translate into ODIs, where he is an absolute match-winner with the bat.

India’s success at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 would lay heavily on Kohli’s shoulders.

4. Shreyas Iyer

In spite of amassing 530 runs during the World Cup 2023, including a hundred in the semi-final, Shreyas Iyer was displaced from his No. 4 spot by new head coach Gautam Gambhir in the Sri Lanka ODIs.

Indian fans would be hoping that sanity and clarity prevails in the Indian dressing room and Iyer gets a consistent run at No. 4 against England and in the Champions Trophy.

5. KL Rahul (wk)

Similar to Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul had a terrific time during the World Cup 2023 (452 runs) in the middle-order and donned the wicket-keeper’s gloves, but insecurity was bred in by Gambhir in Sri Lanka last year, where Rahul was dropped after a couple of games as Rishabh Pant returned to international cricket.

Wicket-keeper or not, Rahul seemed to have done enough in the World Cup to warrant a place in the ODI side in the middle-order.

6. Rishabh Pant (wk)

Pant made a return to the ODI XI in Sri Lanka, but managed only six runs in one innings. Regardless, he is a match-winner with the bat. Albeit two and half years back, three innings ago, Pant smashed a match-winning century in Manchester in the series-deciding ODI – and the presence of a left-hander is a must in India’s XI.

How the management fits Pant in with Iyer and Rahul would be interesting to see.

7. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has not played ODI cricket since getting injured mid-way through the World Cup 2023 – he opted out of the ODIs in Sri Lanka – but continues to be a first-choice XI player. Hardik provides the much-needed balance to the Indian team as in spin-friendly conditions, he could be picked as the third seamer, though he would always remain under injury concern.

He produced outstanding all-round performances during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

8. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja was rested from the ODI series in Sri Lanka and is expected to return to the side now. For the first time in his career, Jadeja is finally being put under pressure by Axar Patel for a place in the XI.

While the feeling is that Jadeja still remains a first-choice member, his lack of contributions in the T20 World Cup 2024 didn’t go unnoticed.

9. Axar Patel

Barring that one over to Heinrich Klaasen in the final, Axar Patel made the right noises with both bat and ball during the T20 World Cup 2024.

In the three ODIs in Sri Lanka, in the absence of the rested Jadeja, Patel returned with the second-best batting average among Indian batsmen and took four wickets at a tidy economy.

Axar has done enough to force the management to ponder over playing him as the left-arm spinning all-rounder over Jadeja, though that remains a bold call right now.

10. Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav picked up 15 wickets during India’s run to the World Cup 2023 final at an economy of less than 4.5. In three ODIs in Sri Lanka, he claimed four scalps and had an economy of only 3.4

He missed the BGT 2024-25 owing to a chronic left groin issue. If fit, he will walk into India’s ODI squad for the England series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

11. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah was phenomenal in 2024 in T20Is – bagging the Player of the Tournament award in the T20 World Cup 2024 – and in test cricket – 71 wickets in 13 tests at 14.92.

At the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Bumrah would be looking to win his maiden ODI ICC title, having missed in the last three ICC ODI events in the knockouts.

12. Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami had an unbelievable World Cup 2023, where he took 24 wickets in seven games at an average of merely 10.70. However, since then, he hasn’t played international cricket due to multiple injuries.

He has made his return to domestic cricket and, barring any late injury, is expected to make his comeback in the ODI side with the England series and feature in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

13. Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj had an good World Cup 2023 campaign, where he took 14 wickets in 11 matches and bowled well with the new ball. He was, however, poor during the three ODIs in Sri Lanka: three wickets at an average of 52.33 and economy of 6.28.

Despite that, Siraj is a definite pick in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad but may not sneak into the playing XI as India might go with three spinners in Dubai.

14. Washington Sundar/Arshdeep Singh

Washington Sundar is the first-choice off-spinning all-rounder for India now that Ravichandran Ashwin has retired from international cricket. Washington has 22 ODIs under his belt, in which he’s taken 23 wickets and had an economy 4.70.

In the Dubai conditions, India are likely to go with three spinners in the XI, one of which could be Sundar to target the left-handers of the opposition. He could also contribute with the bat.

The selectors might also give a strong thought over including Arshdeep Singh in the squad as the other three senior pacers are all right-handed. Arshdeep, however, doesn’t have the body of work in ODIs as he has in T20Is.

15. Shivam Dube/Nitish Kumar Reddy

One of Dube or Reddy is likely to be picked in the ICC Champions Trophy squad as a back-up for Hardik Pandya.

Shivam Dube was picked for the ODIs in Sri Lanka but managed only 34 runs in three outings, although the series was played in extremely spin-friendly pitches.

Nitish Kumar Reddy is uncapped in ODIs but with his performances in his debut T20I series against Bangladesh and debut test series in Australia, he proved he has the temperament and quality to take on world-class bowlers.

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