The Champions Trophy is almost upon us and all the players are getting prepped for the biggest international tournament of the year. The Indian squad was announced around two weeks back and barring one or two surprises, the usual players were present. We present a team of alternate XI players for the trophy:
1.Gautam Gambhir:
The Delhi opener would have been a great addition to the current team also, but for now he can captain the alternate XI.
2.Robin Uthappa:
Uthappa is another player who has missed out on a spot in the XI despite being a decent batsman and having gone through some good form off late.
3.Suresh Raina:
Raina was probably the biggest surprise to have missed out from the squad but he is still class and could walk into any other team with ease.
4.Rishabh Pant:
Pant took the world by storm with his performances for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL and could be the answer to the throne of MS Dhoni once he retires.
5.Ambati Rayudu:
Rayudu has played a few ODIs and has managed to get centuries under his belt. He has not made the XI because of inconsistency but takes his place here.
6.Kuldeep Yadav:
Kuldeep Yadav is another player who has a bright future ahead of him. Still only 22, he can try to find his way into the squad post the Champions Trophy.
7.Sanju Samson:
Samson is another one who has the ability to make it as India’s wicketkeeper after MS Dhoni. He has to work on his technique however.
8.Amit Mishra:
The leg-spinner is another one who has the ability to play at the highest level but not for the Indian team at the moment thanks to the talent already present there.
9.Yuzvendra Chahal:
Chahal was excellent in the series versus England but was not able to make the squad thanks to the presence of players like Jadeja and Ashwin.
10.Jaydev Unadkat:
Despite a wonderful IPL, Unadkat was not able to make it to the Indian squad. He does have the potential however to make it to the team.
11.Ishant Sharma:
Even though he’s a regular in the Indian Test team, Ishant was omitted for the major tournament which shows the position that the BCCI have earmarked for him.
