India's Champions Trophy squad was scheduled to be revealed at 12:30 PM on Saturday. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma arrived early at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, prepared with most of the teams for the upcoming ICC tournament, as well as the home ODI series against England already arranged. However, the official announcement was delayed by nearly two and a half hours. According to a report from Dainik Jagran, this postponement stemmed from a disagreement between head coach Gautam Gambhir and Agarkar regarding two selection issues.

A significant point of interest in the announcement was that, contrary to earlier reports, it was Shubman Gill who was appointed as the new vice-captain of the ODI team, rather than Jasprit Bumrah. While it may be inferred that the selectors opted for the next best candidate as Rohit's deputy due to uncertainty surrounding Bumrah's injury status and his potential participation in the tournament, this decision also raised questions about whether the BCCI is considering Gill as a future leader in ODI cricket following the Champions Trophy.

However, Gill's selection was not without contention during the meeting. A BCCI official present at the Mumbai office informed a national daily that Gambhir advocated for Hardik Pandya to assume the vice-captaincy, but this proposal was rejected by both Agarkar and Rohit. It is noteworthy that Hardik has previously captained the Indian ODI team whenever Rohit was unavailable for a series and served as Rohit's deputy during the 2023 ODI World Cup, before being replaced by KL Rahul due to an ankle injury.

Gambhir's Samson selection denied

The former Indian opener has consistently been a strong advocate for Samson. Nevertheless, the wicketkeeper-batter from Kerala was not included in the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy, a decision largely attributed to his absence from matches in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament.

According to Dainik Jagran, Gambhir did endorse Samson for a position in the Indian ODI team; however, the selectors opted to place their trust in Rishabh Pant.

Pant has participated in only one one-day international over the past two years, which was against Sri Lanka last year following his recovery from an accident. Despite this, the selectors have chosen to designate him as the primary wicketkeeper-batter. His left-handed batting style may have also influenced this decision, with KL Rahul positioned as the backup wicketkeeper.

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