Before India, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, begins their campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 next February, whose host nation is yet to be decided, they didn’t enjoy a lot of success, especially after losing the three-match series with a 2-0 margin in Sri Lanka.
They won’t be playing their next 50-over format till the end of January when they host England in another three-match series as preparation for the upcoming tournament. The struggle of India’s batting in the middle order has grown the concern.
It’s yet to be decided whether the Rohit Sharma-led side is going to play in the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan. If not, then they would perhaps choose one of the Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, both of which are nightmares for those who can’t play spin well.
Watch: Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer burst out in laughter on fan’s demand
The last time India won the Champions Trophy the year was in 2013, and they were playing under MS Dhoni. They completed their unbeaten campaign. They reached close in the 2017 season but failed to get the final result in their favor, as they lost the game to Pakistan at the Kennington Oval in England.
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A short video has gone viral recently where Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer were seen to be present at the Colombo airport, where a fan demanded to win the upcoming Champions Trophy for them.
“Sir abhi Champions Trophy jeetna hai bas Champions Trophy,” The anonymous fan told Iyer, who looked at his captain instantly as both of them busted into laughter.
“(chuckles with Rohit) Sir Champions Trophy.” The middle-order batter reacted.
A few days back when captain Rohit and Shreyas Iyer were going to Colombo from Mumbai airport
Fan to Iyer – Sir Abhi CT jeetna he bas CT sir 😂
Iyer – Sir CT…😂 and both Rohit and Iyer started laughing.😂 pic.twitter.com/svMbGVau76
— 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) August 9, 2024
It’s quite surprising that Sri Lanka won’t be part of the Champions Trophy, which was originally going to take place in Pakistan.
India failed to chase down 231 runs in the opening game of the three-match series against Charith Asalanka-led side, as apart from Rohit Sharma, none of the batters could make a major contribution with the bat. Once he was getting out, the other batters were just following him to the dressing room.
The two-time World Champions were 75/0 in the 13th over, as Rohit Sharma celebrated his fifty inside the first ten overs of the chase. He smashed 58 runs in 47 deliveries at a strike rate of over 123, with the help of seven boundaries and three sixes, while the rest of the nine batters collected 155 runs.
The same story continued in the next game. India was at a comfortable position of 97/0 in the 14th over, chasing 241 runs. Rohit Sharma again showed his aggressive batting, as he recorded a 64-run knock in 44 balls, with the help of five boundaries and four over boundaries at a strike rate of 145.45.
During the third and final game, The Nagpur-born cracked 35 runs in 20 balls, at a strike rate of 175, with the help of six boundaries and one six, while the best of the line-up could make 97 runs in around 23 overs.
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“It (issue against spin) is something we have to look at individually and as a game plan. It is a joke when you are playing for India, there is never going to be complacency.” The 37-year-old expressed at the end of the series. “When I am captain, there is no chance of that. But you have to give credit to good cricket. Sri Lanka played better than us.”
The likes of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant- all struggled to score against the spinners, as the middle order of the Indian team could hardly make any contribution.
