adminNEW DELHI. – India recalled fit-again opener Rohit Sharma and spin trumpcard Ravichandran Ashwin as the holders finally named their cricket squad for next month’s Champions Trophy in England and Wales yesterday.
Unhappy with cricket’s new revenue model, which considerably slashes their share from global events in the 2015-23 cycle, India failed to submit a squad by an April 25 deadline, triggering panic among advertisers.
Several members of the Indian board (BCCI) favoured withdrawing from the tournament in protest but court-appointed administrators, who are currently supervising BCCI operations, rallied against such a drastic move.
The 15-member squad unveiled by chief selector MSK Prasad contained no real surprises. Rohit returned from a thigh injury and the right-hander will be joined by southpaw Shikhar Dhawan, who owes his own comeback primarily to a shoulder injury for Lokesh Rahul.
The selectors were also probably influenced by the fact that Dhawan was adjudged man-of-the-tournament when India won the last edition of the eight-team event, also held in England and Wales, four years ago.
“Ajinkya Rahane would be the back-up opener,” Prasad told reporters.
Offspinner Ashwin returned to the side after skipping the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) with a hernia and Prasad said it was more tactical than anything else.
The selectors considered left-arm unorthodox bowler Kuldeep Yadav before deciding a spin attack comprising Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, aided by part-timer Yuvraj Singh, should be sufficient. India begin their Group B campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Birmingham on June 4.
SQUAD: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey. — Reuters.
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