Aakash Chopra predicts India's Champions Trophy squad, Suryakumar Yadav, Samson excluded

After a heartbreaking exit from Australia losing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Indian team will eye a resurgence in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. The team has missed the ticket to World Test Championship 2025 final after reaching the ultimate fixture twice in the last two editions. Subsequently, there are speculations over the inclusion of some senior players in the ODI squad after their rough outings in red-ball.

Players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are under the scanner after a forgettable outing in Australia. Moreover, Mohammed Shami is still recuperating from injury. Amidst this, former India cricketer, Aakash Chopra has unveiled his choice of Indian team for the Champions Trophy and the cricketer-turned-commentator has excluded Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson and opted for Shreyas Iyer instead.

Also Read: Australia Captain Pat Cummins likely to miss Champions Trophy 2025

"I feel Suryakumar Yadav won't be a part of this team. He is actually not playing ODIs and hasn't scored runs in Vijay Hazare as well. Sanju Samson hasn't played at all. One didn't play, and the other didn't score runs, so their names are not going to come. Suryakumar Yadav isn't there, but Shreyas Iyer is. Since the start of the World Cup, he has scored 620 runs in 15 innings, with two centuries, at a strike rate of 112 and an average of 52. Iyer is on fire," said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

"After that, I have left Shardul Thakur out. So I have got Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh. Jasprit Bumrah shouldn't be spoken about. Mohammed Shami should 100 percent go if he is fit. He should play against England as well," he added.

Aakash Chopra's India squad for Champions Trophy:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh