Champions Trophy 2017: Virender Sehwag picks his 15-man India squad

There is a dark cloud hovering over India’s participation in the coveted Champions Trophy 2017. The Indian board has already missed the deadline to select the squad for the ICC mega event. While the clouds continue to play hide and seek over India’s participation, the cricket pundits are picking their squads for the mega event. Recently, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag joined the list of pundits to pick his team for the tournament.

As per the reports in the Dainik Bhaskar, Sehwag chose his preferred 15 players who should tour England for the tournament. Surprisingly enough, the squad did not have his former Delhi teammates Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir. Clearly, Virender Sehwag had the future in mind when he picked up a few youngsters for the tournament. He chose Ajinkya Rahane to be the opening partner for Rohit Sharma.

Virat Kohli, the obvious choice, will be leading the team. Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni follow in next to form the core group of players providing stability in the middle order. Young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant found a place in Sehwag’s team as the reserve wicket-keeper. Kedar Jadhav, who came into the side as a wicket-keeper, sees himself as a specialist finisher in the lineup.

Among the all-rounders, Hardik Pandya is the solitary name in Sehwag’s squad. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja make a comeback to the 50 overs setup for Sehwag in the spin department with Yuzvendra Chahal being the backup. Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami have been India’s premier pacers in the past and they find themselves in the lineup too.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah make up the remaining part of the pace brigade. Both players have been sensational with the ball in the death overs in the recent past.

Here is the 15-man squad picked up by Virender Sehwag:

Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli (C), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami.