Last Updated:
KL Rahul confirmed no injury concerns in India’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy, dismissing rumors about Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami missing the New Zealand match.
Rohit Sharma is likely to play India’s CT 2025 match against New Zealand (AP Photo)
Senior batter KL Rahul has confirmed that there are ‘no concerns’ of injuries in the India men’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy, contradicting rumors about skipper Rohit Sharma and pacer Mohammed Shami missing Sunday’s clash against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Rohit strained his hamstring while fielding in the last match against Pakistan and spent some time in the pavilion in the first innings. Shami, too, looked to be struggling with his ankle in one over and left the field briefly but returned and bowled his full quota of overs till Pakistan was bowled out in the 50th over.
In the post-match presentation, Rohit said his hamstring was ‘OK’, though worries over his fitness remained.
“Fitness-wise, everything seems pretty okay. There are no real concerns about anyone missing, as far as I know. Everyone has been at the gym; everyone has been in training,” Rahul said in the pre-match press conference, two days before the New Zealand match.
Rahul also said that, as per his information, India were unlikely to make any changes for the New Zealand clash because of the low turnaround between the semi-final on Tuesday.
“I’m not in the leadership group to have to make that decision. But I’m sure there will be some temptation. I’ve been in these positions before where there’s an opportunity where you can try out the players who have important games and do get a game. But I don’t know if that will happen in a Championship Trophy.
“We only have one day’s break before the semifinals. And we’ve got a six-day break now. So we probably want all of the players to play the game and get a little bit of time in the middle. And this is my version. I don’t know. It might be very different tomorrow,” Rahul said, as quoted by PTI.
He also said that New Zealand could not be taken lightly.
“It’s my first Champions Trophy and what I’ve realised is things happen really quickly. It’s not like the World Cup where even if you don’t start well, there’s an opportunity for you to come back. But in this tournament, it’s just really hard. You need to be really switched on.
“No game is easy or no team can be taken lightly. So, yeah, that’s how we’ve looked at things in New Zealand. They’ve always been a very formidable team and a very competitive team. We’ve played against them a lot of times in ICC events and they’ve ramped up against us. It’s been quite even in the contest,” Rahul said.
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
