Not Shubman Gill, Gautam Gambhir wanted THIS player to be India's vice-captain for Champions Trophy 2025

Amid swirling rumors of tension within the Indian cricket team's dressing room, it has emerged that head coach Gautam Gambhir was in disagreement with both chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma over two key decisions regarding India's squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

While India's ODI squad is typically viewed as a well-established and cohesive unit with little room for contention, the selection meeting held on Saturday (January 18) lasted over two hours, leading to confusion among fans and the media. The subsequent press conference at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium was notably delayed, with the reported discord between the head coach, selector, and captain cited as the main reason for the extended discussions.

According to a report by Dainik Jagran, a senior BCCI official present at the Mumbai office disclosed that Gambhir pushed for Hardik Pandya to be named the team's vice-captain, while both Agarkar and Rohit preferred Shubman Gill for the position. In the end, the 25-year-old Gill maintained his role as vice-captain after being appointed for the first time during the Sri Lanka tour last year.

Hardik Pandya had previously held the role of India's designated vice-captain during the 2023 Cricket World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, after Suryakumar Yadav was appointed as India's full-time T20I captain, the talented all-rounder was left out of the leadership group. Most recently, the selectors named Axar Patel as the vice-captain of the T20I side for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England.

The report also indicates that Gambhir supported the idea of naming Sanju Samson as the second wicket-keeper in the squad, alongside KL Rahul. However, Rishabh Pant was ultimately chosen by the chief selector and included in the 15-man squad. Pant has only participated in one ODI since his return after a 15-month break from the sport due to a serious car accident. 

Meanwhile, Samson scored a century against South Africa in December 2023 but hasn't played an ODI since then. Additionally, he was not selected for Kerala's squad in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT).

India's Champions Trophy squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar PAtel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep SIngh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja.

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