Indian cricket team men will be entering the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as favorites, with hopes high as they prepare to play the coveted tournament. The tournament gets underway on Wednesday, February 19, when defending champions Pakistan face New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. India, who are in Group A, will start their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

But the actual blockbuster match is on February 23, when India takes on Pakistan in a high-pressure encounter at the same ground. Their last group-stage encounter will be against New Zealand in Dubai on March 2, a game that may determine the course of their campaign in the tournament.

As the Champions Trophy is back after eight years, Indian selectors have chosen a heavy-spin lineup with five spinners along with three pacers in the 15-man group. This has caused some debate among ex-cricket experts and experts with some criticizing whether or not the side has gotten the mix correct. One of the persons concerned about this approach being maybe not right is former wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik.

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“Firstly, let’s talk about the two openers. I think if in the event that one of them gets hurt, Yashasvi (Jaiswal) can always step in as a substitute. If it’s for just a match, then KL Rahul can always open, so that’s not much of a problem. But five spinners—personally, I feel that’s a little too much. They could have used four. It does not point towards bewilderment, but it actually reflects uncertainty in choice-making. They declared a team and then promoted a spinner for an opener, which is rare,” said Dinesh Karthik while speaking on Cricbuzz’s HeyCB with DK show.

The retired cricketer, an India member of the winning 2013 Champions Trophy team, also had his say about the team’s choice of Harshit Rana over Mohammed Siraj as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah.

While Siraj would have perhaps had experience on his side, Dinesh Karthik feels that Harshit’s match-winning performance against England had earned him the Indian team management’s support.

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“If the experience was on top of the agenda, then yes, Siraj would have been the natural choice. But I felt Harshit bowled superbly against England. The Indian camp seems really impressed with him. I believe it was a toss-up between Harshit and Siraj, but now the team strongly supports Harshit more,” Dinesh Karthik said.