The suspense around India's Champions Trophy squad will finally end on January 18 in team's press conference in Mumbai. Both India captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar will turn up for the press conference which will be held around 12:30 PM to announce India's squad for both England ODI series and all-important Champions Trophy 2025 which is set to start from February 19.
Sanju Samson, Karun Nair likely to be snubbed in India's squad for Champions Trophy, England ODI
Sports Tak has learnt that there was an informal meeting of selection committee on January 17 before the press conference where they discussed on ODI's squad for England series and Champions Trophy 2025. Looks like they have zeroed in on the squad for both the outings. However, two start players are expected to miss out on India's squad, one is Sanju Samson and the other is Karun Nair.
It has been learnt that Sanju Samson will miss out on the Champions Trophy squad as selectors feel the star batter's T20I form doesn't translate to ODI format. Another big reason why Sanju Samson will not be considered because he didn't feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-2025. Sanju was apparently in Dubai for Rajasthan Royals' camp. And as per BCCI's new guidelines, it's become mandatory for every player to play domestic cricket. And if BCCI ended up picking Sanju, considering his top notch T20I form, it will be unfair for the other players, especially after BCCI's strict action against Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for ignoring domestic cricket in the past. This was the thought behind Indian selectors while snubbing Sanju for the upcoming ODI series and Champions Trophy 2025. However KL Rahul will be top choice as India's wicketkeeper spot for both the outing. Surprisingly the 30-year-old cracked a century in his previous ODI outing which came in 2023 against South Africa. Talking about his ODI stats, he has played 16 matches in which he has amassed 510 runs riding on 3 fifties and a ton. On the other hand in T20Is, he has featured in 37 matches and has scored 810 runs riding on three centuries and a fifty. Notably, out of his two of his three tons came in the T20I series against South Africa.
Meanwhile, Karun Nair won't be able to make a cut in India's squad despite his stellar form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-2025. Riding on five stunning centuries Karun Nair has amassed 752 runs at a staggering average of 752 across eight innings. Of late he guided Vidarbha to Vijay Hazare Trophy final where they will meet Karnataka for the title clash. But his batting exploits won't be enough for BCCI to consider him in India's squad. Reason being, there is no weak link in India's ODI set-up as of now. However, India put on a disappointing show in the recent Test series, both against New Zealand and Australia. But to accommodate Karun Nair BCCI will need to find a weak link in India's ODI set-up which they are finding it difficult to find right now. This is the reason Karun Nair will not be included in India's squad for both ODI series against England and Champions Trophy.