India Fights Over Wicket-Keeper’s Position!! Veteran Batter Angry Over Gautam Gambhir For Omission

With India winning the last ICC event through the T20 World Cup in 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA, there is much pressure on the players for the Champions Trophy 2025, which begins on February 19.

However, the national side has yet to win an ICC title in the 50-over format. They lifted the 2013 edition of the eight-team tournament before coming close in the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups.

India’s ODI performance since 2023

Since the start of 2023, India has lost just one bilateral ODI series, which took place in Sri Lanka last year. Their batters did not know how to tackle the spin on slower surfaces. However, the Rohit Sharma-led team has achieved a lot in the format, including the Asia Cup and becoming the runners-up of the home 2023 World Cup.

Also Read: Rishabh Pant Struggles With Knee Issues In India Camp For Champions Trophy 2025

Even in the recent three-match ODI series just before the Champions Trophy, the Blue Brigade clean-swept England by a 3-0 margin. Their performances with both bat and ball in different situations were remarkable, as they held their nerves in crunch situations.

Captain Rohit smashed a fine century during the second affair in Cuttack, while Shubman Gill celebrated two half-centuries in the first two encounters before notching up a hundred in the third Ahmedabad ODI. Even Virat Kohli also smashed a fifty in the final ODI before the Champions Trophy.

India argues over the wicket-keeper’s position between these two players

The 3-1 series defeat in the five Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 was a huge blow for the 2021-23 runners-up of the World Test Championship (WTC). Several reports have claimed that a few cracks have been opened up in the dressing room of Rohit’s army.

A report also states that certain ‘Mr. Fix-it who displayed his ambition to be their interim captain, while the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, wasn’t satisfied with one of the young players leaking the dressing room discussions. Several predicted the broken bonding of the blue brigade. The BCCI also created a few rules and regulations to bring solidarity among the team.

However, a new report has occurred to question the wicketkeeper’s place in the side. The current Indian head coach reportedly reckons that a ‘current wicket-keeper of the side’, who is not the first choice in the playing eleven, has lost his spot due to ‘external reasons.’

In a recent interview with Star Sports after the England T20I series, Gambhir praised KL Rahul as their first-choice wicket-keeper for the 50-over format. The Bengaluru-born played all the ODIs of the home series and is likely to start against Bangladesh in the event opener.

KL Rahul likely to dodge Rishabh Pant in the wicket-keeper’s race

A powerful shot from Hardik Pandya hit Pant on his knees, as the former appeared to be struggling and limping slightly during their recent practice session at the ICC academy in Dubai. He skipped the wicket-keeping and fielding practice and looked a bit rusty with the bat.

Also Read: Morne Morkel Leaves India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Camp In Dubai To Fly Back Home

On February 18, two days before the Bangladesh contest, Rahul worked on his aggressive batting and trained for the second time on Monday (February 17). The Karnataka's batter cemented his spot in the middle order when Pant was out of action, smashing 452 runs in 10 innings during the 2023 World Cup.

Pant has done a significant job in the longest format but is yet to crack the ODI format with 871 runs in 27 innings at an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of 106.21, shouldering on five half-centuries and one century.