The Indian national cricket team’s ODI match against England remains a major talking point as it will clearly show which team will take part in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The eight-nation competition will be held in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 to March 9.

The BCCI on Saturday (January 11) announced the Indian squad for the five-match T20I series against the England national cricket team. The biggest positive is the return of chief pacer Mohammad Shami to the team after a long-term injury that kept him out of action this year.

Mohammad Shami will play in India jersey for the first time since 2023 ICC World Cup

Mohammad Shami will make his debut for India after the 2023 ICC World Cup final. He has also played a few domestic matches recently, but knee swelling has caused him to face yet another setback and his return to the Indian national cricket team has been postponed.

But Mohammad Shami will not play all five matches of the T20I series in England, PTI reported. This is because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wants to select him in the 2025 International Cricket Federation Champions Trophy squad. Mohammad Shami is also expected to play three ODI matches.

KL Rahul, if selected, will be selected as England’s specialist batsman in ODIs

Reports also claim that KL Rahul’s selection for the ODI series against the England national cricket team is still unclear. It is reported that if he is selected, he will appear in the team as a specialist batsman and not as a wicket-keeper batsman.

KL Rahul is yet to reach his smooth best in ODIs. His performance in the 2023 ICC World Cup final is still fresh in the memory of many. The wicketkeeper-batsman, despite scoring a half-century, struggled as he failed to hit boundaries when needed.

If he misses the England ODIs, he may miss the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Recent reports suggested that Rishabh Pant will be the first-choice goalkeeper while Sanju Samson is also likely to be absent. Become the second goalkeeper.

Kuldeep Yadav’s selection for England ODIs depends solely on his fitness report

Kuldeep Yadav’s selection, on the other hand, depends entirely on the wrist-spinner’s performance in the fitness test. He will be selected in the Indian team for the three-match ODI series against the England national cricket team only if the NCA team deems him fit.

Reports from Dainik Jagran suggest that Kuldeep Yadav is currently in NCA and his fitness report will be released around January 25-26. Only after that, he was selected for the ODI series against the England national cricket team.

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