Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra added that Suryakumar Yadav is not in India’s scheme of things for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Yadav has been named India’s captain for the T20I series against Sri Lanka but has not been selected for the ODIs. India will take on Sri Lanka in three T20Is followed by as many ODIs, with the first game scheduled in Pallekele on July 27 as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Suryakumar Yadav was a part of the team that reached the final of the last (2023 ODI) World Cup. He was part of this (2024 T20) World Cup as well, the (David Miller) catch he took but he is now not part of the ODI team. A question was asked about that and he said that Suryakumar Yadav is a phenomenal and special player but he will be seen playing in T20Is only and is currently not being considered in ODIs. So if he is not being considered and the Champions Trophy is about to come, you can assume that Suryakumar Yadav won’t be seen there.”
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On the other hand, Chopra also noted that Shubman Gill is nearly certain in India’s Champions Trophy squad as well considering he has also been given a leadership role. Gill has been named the vice-captain for both the T20I and ODI squads for the Sri Lanka tour as well. He recently led India to a 4-1 win in the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe.
“However, Shubman Gill will be seen there. He (Agarkar) said that he (Gill) is a three-format player and Gautam (Gambhir) believes it’s not a bad thing if he can get three-format players. They have also liked his captaincy in the IPL and against Zimbabwe, and that’s why he has been made the ODI vice-captain,” he added.
However, Aakash Chopra also shared that Suryakumar Yadav won over Hardik Pandya in India’s T20I captaincy race due to the latter’s fitness concerns. He also pointed out that Ravindra Jadeja’s non-selection for the ODIs doesn’t mean the end of the road for him in the format.
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“Hardik Pandya hasn’t been made the captain in T20Is because fitness is an important aspect. They want the captain to play all cricket and shouldn’t take too many breaks. So in such a scenario, Suryakumar Yadav jumped ahead of him in the race. However, Hardik Pandya is an important player, he has a huge stature in Indian cricket and there are expectations from him,” he said
“He (Agarkar) said that they should have explained at the time of selecting the team that he (Jadeja) hasn’t been dropped. There was some speculation, some Instagram handles went overdrive and said Jaddu was seen for the last time in colored clothes, and would only be seen in Chennai’s team and not in India’s ODI team. However, the coach and chairman of selectors have said that there is nothing to be taken tension about, he has been rested because there is a lot of Test cricket in the near future. It’s actually continuous. First Bangladesh, then New Zealand and Australia. They have given him a break. So it’s not that his chances of playing ODIs have ended,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
