Shubman Gill was not Gambhir’s choice, wanted to make Hardik Pandya the vice-captain

Last updated:January 19, 2025, 11:11 IST

Champions Trophy team selection: The team selected for the ICC Champions Trophy will be captained by Rohit Sharma while Shubman Gill has been made the vice-captain. It is reported that coach Gautam Gambhir did not agree on his/her name. That tournament to Hardik Pandya…read more

New Delhi. Controversy seems to be arising regarding the Indian team selected for the ICC Champions Trophy. BCCI announced the 15-member squad in a press conference held at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday (January 18). Rohit Sharma will captain India in this tournament while Shubman Gill has been made the vice-captain. Now the news is coming that head coach Gautam Gambhir wanted to make Hardik Pandya the vice-captain in the Champions Trophy.

According to a report published in Dainik Jagran on Sunday, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir was in favor of making Hardik Pandya the vice-captain for the ICC tournament but captain Rohit and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were in favor of Gill. Hardik was the vice-captain of India in the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup, but has since been removed. After Rohit’s retirement from T20 International in June 2024, Hardik was all set to take charge of the Indian T20 team, but the decision was taken to make Suryakumar Yadav the captain.

Shubman Gill played the role of vice-captain of India in the last ODI series played against Sri Lanka in August 2024. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar emphasized this while announcing the Champions Trophy team. he/she said that Gill was the vice-captain and that is why he/she has been retained. According to the information, Gambhir wanted Sanju Samson to be included in India’s Champions Trophy team as a wicketkeeper-batsman, but Rohit and Agarkar wanted Rishabh Pant.

Sanju Samson was Gambhir’s choice

In 2024, Samson became the first batsman to score three T20 International centuries in a calendar year. India last played an ODI against South Africa on 21 December 2023, in which Samson, batting at number 3, scored an inning of 108 runs. The selectors and captain chose Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper along with KL Rahul in the Champions Trophy team.

India’s squad for Champions Trophy 2025:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.