Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team in their Champions Trophy campaign opener against Bangladesh in Dubai. The rivalry between the two teams starts with an intense battle. Both teams last met in the ODI World Cup 2023 where India defeated the Tigers.
The Bangladesh side presents a few unknown and young faces without their senior players like Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das. The pace bowling attack with Nahid Rana in the lineup presents an exciting factor.
Meanwhile, ahead of India's first match against Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma spoke on a variety of issues concerning with the Indian team. His responses varied from playing in Dubai and getting adjusted to the conditions to the possible playing combination for their first match.
About playing in Dubai conditions he said "Every venue has its own challenge and Dubai obviously will be a different challenge. Quickly assessing what's to do here tommorrow will be key for us. If it's going to be overcast, we have the bowling arsenal to combat that he said. If overhead conditions are helping the bowlers, we have the bowlers to exploit that. And if we bat in those overhead conditions, the batters know exactly what to do".
Rohit Sharma On Gill, Bumrah and India's Spin Combination
His next response was on Shubman Gill. Gill was appointed as the vice-captain for the Champions Trophy. He backed his selection with some good batting against England where he scored a century and two fifties against England.
“Gill is a very, very classy player. There was never a doubt about his ability in this squad. If you mix formats, I don’t think that is the right way to judge any player. Gill’s numbers are crazy. He has been superb for us in the past three or four years that he has batted. There is a reason he has been elevated to be the vice-captain of the team" Rohit said on Gill.
With Jasprit Bumrah set to miss the Champions Trophy, Rohit said that he will missed surely but the squad has enough depth to cover for his absence.
"There will be times when you miss certain players but I think there is enough quality, enough depth and enough experience in the team for us" said Rohit on Bumrah's absence from the tournament.
Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Match 2: Bangladesh vs India Match Preview & Where to Watch Live?
Rohit concluded his interaction by speaking about India's spin combination that has been picked for the tournament. India picked Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. Chakravarthy was a late addition to the side in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal after his performance in the ODI series against England.
"I am not looking at them as five spinners. Those three guys can bat and can bowl also. "Those three guys - Jadeja, Axar, Washington - give us a different to the game, to our combination, to our squad. They add a lot to this team and give us a lot of depth. That is why we wanted to get players who have two skills rather than one skill," Rohit said.
After playing against Bangladesh on Wednesday (February 20), India will take on Pakistan their arch-rivals in Dubai on February 23.
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