India are all set to begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign from February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai, as they aim to win their second ICC trophy less than a year after winning the T20 World Cup 2024. The squad for the mega tournament has been announced, and in a last-minute change, Varun Chakravarthy was brought into the squad in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal. The star spinner has been in solid form in the T20I format and hence many have expected him to feature in the playing XI of the tournament. However, Kevin Pietersen has not named him in his ideal India playing XI for the tournament.

In an interaction with Star Sports, Kevin Pietersen said even though Varun Chakravarthy has been good, Kuldeep Yadav has produced far better numbers in ODIs in the recent past. He also picked Arshdeep Singh over Harshit Rana, because of the variety he adds with his left-arm pace.

“Chakravarthy's been very good, but I think Kuldeep has been very good in terms of what he's produced and the numbers that he's produced. I like the left-arm seamer, so that's why Arshdeep starts for me. You've got your three seamers there. Shami, Arshdeep and Hardik. Then you've got Jadeja, who's always my first pick. So Jadeja and the rest, Kuldeep, Axar,” Pietersen said.

India have played KL Rahul as the first-choice wicketkeeper over Rishabh Pant in the playing XI for the ODI series vs England. However, his batting position has not been consistent. He came in at no.6 below Axar Patel in the first two ODIs, while coming in at no.5 in the final match. Kevin Pietersen believes that Rahul should come in at no.5 because he needs to face as many balls as he can get.

“One thing they'll be happy is that Virat Kohli got runs today. So Rohit's got runs. Gill, Shreyas...it's a pretty formidable start, I tell you that. I want KL Rahul at 5 because I want him to face many balls he got. He came in today with 17 overs to go. And when you come in with more time, you can build it. I don't think KL Rahul is the guy that comes in with three overs to go and hits you 30 or 12 ball. Rahul is the kind of guy that needs to get himself in in one day cricket. The best chance to give him that time is to bat him at 5,” the former England captain added.

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.