India’s Team Member Leaves For Home In Between Champions Trophy 2025
Published - 03 Mar 2025, 12:22 PM | Updated - 03 Mar 2025, 11:34 PM

Table of Contents
Even though India enjoyed a sweet victory against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, they received a huge blow off the field. The blue brigade was batting in the first innings when the incident took place.
Rohit Sharma’s army, thanks to the victory in the last group-stage fixture against the Kiwis, has qualified for the semifinal of the event and will face Australia at the same venue on March 04, while South Africa will lock horns with the Blackcaps at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
India’s team manager leaves Champions Trophy campaign midway
The team manager of the Indian side, R Devraj, left the squad after the passing of his mother on Sunday (March 02) morning, as the reports of Cricbuzz have noted. He has left Dubai abruptly to attend to a family bereavement.
Also Read: Pakistan To Appoint This Former Player As Head Coach After Champions Trophy 2025 Disaster
Devraj immediately departed for Hyderabad to be with his family, as he currently serves as the secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). It’s not clear whether Devraj will return to resume his managerial duties for India, but it’s expected that the decision will be made based on the outcome of Tuesday’s semifinal against Australia.
“With deep sorrow, we inform you that our Secretary Devraj's mother, Kamaleshwari Garu, has passed away. May her soul rest in peace. Our heartfelt condolences to Devraj Garu and his family.” The Hyderabad Cricket Association expressed their condolences in a statement.
Shreyas Iyer’s half-century carries India to 249/9
New Zealand’s captain, Mitchell Santer, won the toss and decided to bowl first on a slow and low surface, expecting the 22-yard to get better under the lights in cooler conditions. India lost both the openers early, while a blinder from Glenn Phillips stunned Virat Kohli to send the veteran back to the pavilion.
Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel put up 98 runs for the fourth wicket to stabilize the ship before Hardik Pandya creamed 42 runs at run-a-ball, thanks to four boundaries and a couple of sixes at a strike rate of 100. The left-handed batter smashed 42 runs in 61 balls at a strike rate of nearly 70 to finish on 249/9 in their allotted 50 overs.
The blue brigade made a great recovery in the middle overs after finding themselves at 30/3 in the seventh overs. Matt Henry celebrated his five-wicket haul in the fixture.
Varun Chakravarthy’s five-wicket hauls promote India to the semifinal
India decided to go with four spinners in the encounters. Varun Chakravarthy replaced Harshit Rana for the encounter. The mystery spinner didn’t start well in the field, giving away a boundary in the powerplay with a poor fielding performance.
Hardik drew the first blood with the wicket of Rachin Ravindra, who found Axar Patel in the third-man region. Varun Chakravarthy was unstoppable in the middle overs, as none of the Kiwi batters could decode his variations.
Also Read: Pakistan Spinner Bows Down To Childhood Hero Virat Kohli In Special Post After Champions Trophy 2025
Kane Williamson made 81 runs, but that wasn’t enough in the chase. Santer smashed 28 runs in 31 balls, thanks to one boundary and two over boundaries at a strike rate of over 90. The Kolkata Knight Riders spinner ended with 5/42 in his 10 overs, while Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar shared four wickets between them, packing the Kiwis for 205 in the second innings.
Rohit Sharma’s army will hope to carry the same performance against Australia in the first semifinal at the same venue on March 04.
Tagged:
India National Cricket Team ICC Champions Trophy New Zealand National Cricket Team India vs New Zealand