ICC Champions Trophy 2017: BCCI announce 15-man India squad

The much-awaited team India squad for the upcoming edition of the ICC Champions Trophy has been announced. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the 15-man squad for the ICC mega event on May 8. The selectors have opted to be with the tried and tested combination of players for the tournament. There are no surprise inclusions in the squad and the team is pretty much the same that played against the England earlier this year.

Virat Kohli is set to lead the team for the tournament that commences on June 1. Amidst all speculations, the selectors have opted to go with the same opening combination that played for India in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been picked in the lineup. Ajinkya Rahane could well be seen as the reserve opener in the side.

Among the wicket-keepers, MS Dhoni will don the gloves yet again. Kedar Jadhav is the reserve keeper in the squad but is likely to feature in the middle-order as was the case during the England series. Veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh continues to be in the lineup owing to his good run in the ODIs in the recent times. Veteran batsman Dinesh Karthik was roped in as replacement for Manish Pandey.

Among the all-rounders, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are the two big names in the list. Expect Pandya to be taking the new ball responsibilities as well. Jadeja will have his senior partner Ravichandran Ashwin in the spin department. Among the pacers, the expected quartet of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Jasprit Bumrah have been included.

Team India will begin their title defense on June 4 against Pakistan.

India Squad for Champions Trophy:

Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Dinesh Karthik.

#CT #TeamIndia – Virat (C), Shikhar, Rohit, Rahane, MSD (wk), Yuvraj, Kedar, Hardik, Ashwin, Jadeja, Shami, Umesh, Bhuvi, Bumrah & Manish pic.twitter.com/pQOgpO9JNf

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 8, 2017