2017 ICC Champions Trophy: India's probable playing XI
The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy is about to get underway in a few days time and the teams are already preparing themselves for the tournament. A lot has been expected from the defending champions, India, who will look to get one more ICC championship under their belt.
The selectors have announced a strong 15-member squad led by Virat Kohli. The squad has all the bases covered and the Men in Blue could go all the way in the tournament. Manish Pandey, who was in the original squad, was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury and Dinesh Karthik was named as his replacement.
A lot of questions have to be answered before India take on Pakistan in their first match of the extravaganza on June 4. Who will open the innings for India? What will be the bowling combination? Will Mohammed Shami play? Let us take a look at India’s probable playing XI ahead of the tournament.
Extra cover: Five reasons why Dinesh Karthik is the ideal replacement for Manish Pandey
Squad:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
Openers
It was almost certain that KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will open the batting for the defending champions in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. However, in-form Rahul had to undergo a shoulder surgery that saw him skip the IPL and the Champions Trophy.
In the absence of the Karnataka batsman, the selectors will have a huge headache in figuring out the right combination at the top of the order.
With an average of over 53 at the top of the order, Sharma is certain to make the cut as one of the two openers. Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane are in contention to partner Rohit at the top. Dhawan has been India’s best batsman in the last two ICC 50-over tournaments but the left-hander has been in and out of the Indian team due to his inconsistency.
On the other hand, Rahane was often criticised for being slow with the bat and it seems like the team management is not having enough faith in the Mumbaikar in the ODI format which is evident by the fact that he wasn’t the first-choice starter in the ODI series against England earlier this year (was made to sit out in the first two matches and replaced an out-of-form Dhawan in the third and final ODI, which was a dead rubber).
In all likelihood, Dhawan will partner Rohit at the top of the order and the duo will look to recreate the magic they did in the same tournament four years ago.