ICC Champions Trophy 2025: With fitness concerns looming high on the star players, the selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are scheduled to assemble in Mumbai on January 19, Sunday, with a key agenda to announce India's squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

According to a report in news agency PTI, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson's chances of making it to India's squad for the Champions Trophy are slim.

Despite being a part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma's leadership last year, Samson has not been a regular feature in the ODI format. His last ODI appearance was on December 21, 2023, against South Africa in Paarl, where he scored a notable century.

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KL Rahul donned wicketkeeping gloves for India during the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup meanwhile now he will take up a different role in the upcoming and much-awaited Champions Trophy. As per the reports, Rahul might be picked merely as a specialist batter, allowing him to focus solely on batting alone. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant will be India's No.1 wicketkeeping choice in the tournament.

Meanwhile, in the hunt for Pant's primary backup, Jurel seems ahead of the game as there is a fierce three-way competition between Dhruv Jurel, Ishan Kishan, and Samson. Samson suffered a setback after pulling out from the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy season due to personal reasons that led to distort his prospects and possibly lessen his chances of getting included in the final list.

However, with India's wicketkeeping strategy coming into focus, Pant and Jurel are likely to form a team pairing for both Tests and ODIs. Pant will operate as the premier wicketkeeper and Jurel as his backup. In the meantime, Sanju tends to be confined within the T20 format, where he has achieved considerable success, scoring three centuries in 2024.

Notably, Jurel, who is yet to make his ODI debut, has been picked into the Indian T20I squad that's scheduled to meet England within the forthcoming five matches. Jurel was last seen in Indian colours during the November 22-25 Perth Test.

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Jasprit Bumrah's Fitness Concerns Delay India's Squad Announcement

The original deadline for the squad announcement was January 12, 2025 however BCCI reportedly sought an extension from the International Cricket Council (ICC), and as a result, the squad announcement is now anticipated to take place on January 18 or 19.

Bumrah's impressive performance in the Border–Gavaskar Trophy came to an unexpected end after he sustained an unfortunate injury in the fifth Test in Sydney. He had to refrain from bowling since after Day 2, leaving a greater question mark about his availability to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.