India may not be able to meet the January 12 deadline for announcing the provisional Champions Trophy squad. India was to announce its squads for the upcoming white-ball series against England and the Champions Trophy, which kicks off on February 19 in Pakistan and the UAE. However, the team is likely to ask for an extension in the aftermath of an intense Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
As per a Cricbuzz report, the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy is likely to be announced on January 18-19 for India, however, the team for the five-match T20I series against England is set to be named over the weekend. The report stated that India's T20 squad led by Suryakumar Yadav will mostly be similar to the one that played the Bangladesh series in October, which suggests that the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy could return, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is all set to be made part of the ODI side as well.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will miss the T20Is but there is a thought that they might be considered for the ODIs. Also in the mix for the ODIs is the left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who is on the heels of achieving the record for most wickets for India in the T20Is. Along with Arshdeep, the ODI squad could also mark the national return for Mohammed Shami, who hasn't represented India since the World Cup 2023 final against Australia in November.
The report stated that Shami has appeared to be cleared by the BCCI's Centre of Excellence's medical team if already not done.?
The main questions lie in front of selectors as to whether India need an extra opener in the form of Jaiswal or a middle-order option like Riyan Parag. How many spinners would India want to have in the ODI side with Varun Chakravarthy putting his hand up during the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Tamil Nadu? And how many wicketkeepers are we talking about?
The five-match T20I series against England kicks off on January 22 in Kolkata with the ODIs scheduled to commence on February 6.
