Rohit Sharma To Miss Champions Trophy 2025 Opener vs Bangladesh? Report Drops Bombshell

On the eve of India’s opening Group A clash of the Champions Trophy 2025 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium, Indian captain Rohit Sharma attended the media in the pre-match press conference.

From an outside view, the Nagpur-born looked visibly unwell, and he coughed multiple times. The Indian leader answered all the questions calmly and declined water from the local organizing committee, stating, “I am fine.” However, the fans have started to worry a little about the opener’s availability for the encounter.

Rohit Sharma welcomes form with a cracking century against England

Before the ICC event, India faced England in a three-match ODI series in preparation for the eight-team tournament. In the first game, Rohit got out in trying to flick the ball on the onside before a leading edge ballooned in the air and died in the hands of the fielder.

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But he never looked to counter the aggression and went with the flow. Rohit Sharma finally got back his lost form in the second ODI at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack with a fine knock of 119 runs in 90 deliveries at a strike rate of 132.22, shouldering on 12 boundaries and seven sixes.

The Mumbai batter has found the Test format hard, but that hasn’t been the case for him in the 50-over format. In the history of the Champions Trophy, he has nailed 481 runs in 10 innings at an average of 53.44 and a strike rate of 82.50, thanks to four half-centuries and one century.

His opening game of the eight-team competition will be against Bangladesh, an opponent whom the batter has enjoyed 786 runs in 17 innings at an average of 56.14 and a strike rate of 97.28, thanks to three half-centuries and three centuries at the best score of 137 runs.

Rohit Sharma clarifies India’s five spinners for the ICC tournament

One of the key talking points during the presser was the discussion around India’s spin bowling options. Rohit Sharma clarified that he is not prepared to see the inclusion of the five spinners as a limitation but rather as an advantage and versatility of the players.

“We have two spinners and three all-rounders. I am not looking at them as five spinners. Jadeja, Axar, Washington give us a lot of depth with the bat.” He addressed.

The 37-year-old touched on the pitch as he expected a quick adaption from the players. The 2013 champions will have the advantage of playing the entire tournament at the same venue.

“I think it's about assessing the pitch as quickly as possible. We've played a lot of cricket here (in Dubai) in the past. We have to adapt as quickly as possible and let our instincts take over based on the situation.” Rohit Sharma cracked.

Undoubtedly, India will miss Jasprit Bumrah’s service in the tournament but their captain has shown full confidence in their players for the depth of the squad.

Rohit Sharma was satisfied with his preparation in the England series

India didn’t have many international fixtures before the tournament, but Rohit was happy with their preparation, particularly through the home England series.

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“We didn't have a lot of games ahead of the Champions Trophy. Even then, we managed to tick off most boxes in the bilateral series against England. We wanted to do things and take off from where we stopped at the World Cup and bring that into the England series and now the Champions Trophy.” He expressed in the press conference.

Before their mouth-watering clash against Pakistan, India hopes to start on a high against Bangladesh, as Rohit is not sure about the dew but isn’t ready to think much about that.