The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday, January 18, announced the strong squad for the Indian national cricket team for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and England ODIs.

The Indian national cricket team will be led by captain Rohit Sharma for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and England ODI series with Shubman Gill as deputy.

Also read: International ICC Champions Trophy: Bangladesh CT squad announced, Shakib Al Hassan dropped

ICC Champions Trophy to be played in hybrid mode

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be played in a hybrid format and will be played in Pakistan and the UAE. Pakistan was the original host of the tournament but a hybrid format was adopted as the Indian government refused to send a team to the country.

The Pakistan Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India are embroiled in a major dispute that has led to a major delay in the announcement of the Champions Trophy fixtures.

The PCB was hesitant to accept the hybrid model and made several demands, all of which were rejected by the BCCI. However, board members held multiple meetings with the ICC and finally announced the schedule on December 24.

The PCB and BCCI both agreed that all matches hosted by India and Pakistan at ICC events during the 2024-2027 cycle will be played at neutral venues and later accepted the neutral venue arrangement for the Champions Trophy.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has bagged the hosting rights for the 2028 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will follow the same hybrid format.

Also read: ICC Champions Trophy: Line-ups announced for CT New Zealand and Pakistan tri-series

BCCI announces India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy

Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian national cricket team in the Champions Trophy and Shubman Gill will serve as his deputy. In the batting department, Rohit will get modern great Virat Kohli along with Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi ·Jaiswal’s support.

Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja will use their all-round skills Provide balance to the team. On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah will lead the attack which consists of Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh. It is worth noting that Bumrah still has doubts about the championship trophy.

Meanwhile, the Indian team will play all its matches in the eight-team tournament from February 19 to March 9 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The Men in Blue will take on Bangladesh on February 20 before a high-pressure encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23. Their final group game will be against New Zealand on March 2, and if they progress further they will play their first semi-final match on March 4. The final will be played in Lahore on March 9 and, unless India advances, it will be played in Dubai.

Here is the Indian squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ak Sar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jai Swale, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana (England ODI only).