CRICKET | Hardik riddle to dominate Champions Trophy selection meeting

Indian cricket team prepares for ICC Champions Trophy with focus on squad selection, including Hardik Pandya's match-fitness.

The hardcore Indian cricket fans may still be coming to terms with a prolonged season of Test cricket that turned out to be a bitter pill to swallow. But the team management and the national selection panel have started planning for the next big test that’s lying ahead for the men’s cricket team, albeit in a different format.

With the ICC Champions Trophy — popularly touted as the mini World Cup — starting in six weeks, the deadline for submitting the squad is fast approaching. As a result, the selection panel is set to pick the preliminary squad for the marquee event on Friday, two days ahead of the January 12 deadline set by the International Cricket Council.

In his first assignment as the India head coach, Gautam Gambhir saw a full-strength ODI squad — barring Jasprit Bumrah — suffering a whitewash in the three-match series in Sri Lanka last July. Since then, India hasn’t played an ODI.

As a result, the selectors are unlikely to tinker around with the combination. However, the biggest talking point will be around the possible inclusion of Hardik Pandya. The enigmatic all-rounder will feature on top of the agenda with regard to the balance of the squad.

After getting injured during the 2023 World Cup, Hardik had not made himself available for any of the six ODIs India has played since then. He had thus been informed that he had to prove his match-fitness by featuring in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The former T20I captain featured in three of Baroda’s league stage games and will compete in the knockouts as well. It will be interesting to see if the selection committee is convinced about Hardik’s match-fitness.

Barring Hardik and Jasprit Bumrah’s anticipated return as a vice-captain, the selection committee is unlikely to tinker too much with the combination despite the series loss in Sri Lanka.