Champions Trophy: India captain Rohit Sharma is fit and should play for India in their final group-stage encounter against New Zealand on Sunday, March 2, at the Dubai International Stadium. There should be some rotation in India's XI, however. Veteran seam bowler Mohammed Shami should be rested and will be replaced by left-arm medium pacer Arshdeep Singh, reported PTI.
Shami Looked Out Of Touch
Shami looked a bit off in his initial spell in India's last game against Pakistan on February 23. While he did recover well after treatment for his right leg, the team management does not want to take any chances of over-burdening him, given the semi-final on March 4.
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India's choice is also dictated by the reason that New Zealand has five left-handed batsmen in the playing eleven. With Arshdeep's capability to make the ball come back, his inclusion provides India with a different variation in their bowling attack. Going by Friday's practice session, Arshdeep will replace Shami. The Punjab pacer bowled 13 overs with a full run-up, whereas Shami bowled merely 6-7 overs with a curtailed run-up, not taking a full stride.
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Assistant Coach On Shami
The body language of the players in training indicated Shami will probably be given a break ahead of the pivotal semi-final. Regardless of ambiguity about altering the winning combination, as indicated by KL Rahul, assistant coach Ryan Doeschate afterwards hinted at potential changes in the bowling lineup.
"We've had two hard practice sessions, so that's been our preparation," said Doeschate. "The first thing is to make sure our best players are match-fit for the semi-final. But we don't want to rest them another two days either, so we might share out the bowling slightly. Of course, we want to beat New Zealand as well to keep momentum and lead the group."
Last League Game Of Champions Trophy 2025
Although India and New Zealand have already qualified for the semi-finals, the game is still crucial. The group leader after this game will play against the winner of the other group in the semi-finals.