Champions Trophy 2025: Will Rahul and Shami make it? Toss-up between Axar and Jadeja
The HinduOut-of-form veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will continue to form the batting core of India's ODI squad but there are at least three senior players whose future in the 50-over format could be debated when the selectors gather this weekend to pick the squad for the Champions Trophy. Shastri wants Rohit and Kohli to play domestic cricket; Ponting proposes time off for Kohli Former India head coach Ravi Shastri wants the struggling Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to get back to playing Ranji Trophy and feels the Test future of the two superstars is dependent on the hunger to maintain their excellence in the game. India head coach Gautam Gambhir underlined the importance of domestic cricket following the loss and Shastri too feels Rohit and Kohli should return to playing Ranji Trophy even though the next series is in June. Because when you play Test match cricket for that length of time, it’s important to play domestic cricket for two reasons,” Shastri said during a conversation alongside Australian great Ricky Ponting on ICC Review. “So if he wants to continue playing Test match cricket, he might just need to have a little spell for a while, find the love for the game again.” Champions Trophy : Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy/Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan/Mohammed Shami, Rinku Singh/Tilak Varma.