BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has further given credence to India’s possibility, as a strong team, of lifting the ICC Champions Trophy with Jasprit Bumrah, a leading fast bowler, being out of the squad. He lauded the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar for arriving at a fine selection in the eight-team marquee competition. While Harshit Rana has been chosen in the squad to replace Bumrah, senior pacer Mohammad Shami is likely to lead the pace attack along with Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya.
“The best combination has been brought together for the Champions Trophy. We are winning this trophy. There is such a big player pool in India, and I don’t think that will disturb the combination all that much,” said Saikia.
On examining the form of senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the BCCI secretary expressed confidence in the fact that both will come good in the tournament. India captain Rohit Sharma hit a century against England in the second ODI, and Kohli broke his drought by scoring a half-century in the final ODI, where the hosts notched up a 3-0 whitewash. Earlier, the Suryakumar-led India sealed the five-match T20I series 4-1.
“Everything is so positive in the team (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back in form); look at what happened in England; results are in front of you. The conditions will be more or less similar in Dubai, with those in India. India has been coming out with such strong performances (against England), 3-0 in ODIs and 4-1 in the T20Is. The morale and spirit of the team were high,” Saikia concluded.
