BCCI's PC Delayed Due To Gambhir Vs Rohit-Agarkar? Latest Reports Drop A Bombshell
Rohit and Agarkar addressed the PC; a file photo of Gambhir (Source: @muffadal_vohra and @KnightClub_KKR)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with India's ODI and Test skipper, Rohit Sharma and chief selector, Ajit Agarkar announced the squad for the highly anticipated 2025 Champions Trophy and the England ODIs. India had requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) for an extension to announce their squad however despite taking a handful of days and numerous hours there was still a lengthy delay before the press conference began.
Iyer-Shami In, Shubman Gill VC
Ideally, it was revealed that both Rohit and Agarkar will be addressing the presser at sharp 12:30 PM IST. However, there was a significant delay of up to two hours before the media interaction began officially since a meeting to finalise the squad was expected to still be going on . Nevertheless, once India's squad for Champions Trophy was officially announced, it had some expected additions like inclusion of Shreyas Iyer and Mohd. Shami and an unexpected change i.e. Shubman Gill was named as the vice-captain.
Rift Alert: Gambhir versus Rohit And Agarkar?
A fresh set of reports by journalist Abhishek Tripathi claim that the extended delay took place due to contrast of opinions in the meeting room. The report states that Gautam Gambhir proposed Hardik Pandya as Vice-Captain, while Agarkar and Rohit preferred Shubman Gill for the role.
Gambhir also pushed for Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper, but Agarkar and Rohit were aligned in backing Rishabh Pant for the position. The report suggests a strong disagreement between Gambhir and Agarkar-Rohit since the head-coach favoured experience and familiarity, while Agarkar and skipper focused on youthful potential and fresh faces.
India squad for Champions Trophy 2025
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh