Sanjay Bangar picks India’s playing XI for 2025 Champions Trophy opener, no place for Mohammed Shami

Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar has picked India’s final XI for the 2025 Champions Trophy opening match against Bangladesh. Bangar ignored Mohammed Shami in his playing XI if Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are available for selection.

Bumrah recently suffered a back injury on the Australian tour whereas Shami returned to the Indian squad after proving his match fitness in the domestic circuit.

“You eliminate one of the fast bowlers. If Arshdeep and Bumrah are both available, then you can afford to leave out somebody like a Shami. So for me, Shami is not a starter,” Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports show Follow the Blues.

Bangar reckons Rishabh Pant will stay on the bench as KL Rahul will be India’s first-choice wicket-keeper.

“Then one between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel and one reserve wicketkeeper. So in this case, Rishabh Pant may be on the benches,” Bangar observed.

“My XI would be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh,” he said.

Bangar noted that Mohammed Shami has proved his fitness after playing across all formats for Bengal in domestic tournaments.

“The bowling looks really, really good with Shami back and Kuldeep back. Shami, for all you know, was working from one format to the other format, wherein he has played across three formats for his domestic team,” he replied.

“So it is a clear indication that, over a period of time, he has gained fitness and is ready to bowl the number of overs that are required to be bowled with high intensity. So he should be playing most of the games right from the first game against England, and the more games that he plays, the better he gets, because that’s what history suggests about Mohammed Shami,” Bangar reasoned.

India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.