Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill reportedly skipped Team India's training session before the 2025 Champions Trophy group stage match against New Zealand. Several media reports suggest that while the captain is battling a hamstring problem, Gill is dealing with a bout of illness.

Earlier, during the match against Pakistan, Rohit was seen clutching his knees and had to go off the field for a while as he was struggling while fielding. He later came back to open the innings and scored a 15-ball 20.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, keeping the injury in mind, Rohit was present at the ICC Academy during India's three-hour session under the lights but did not take part in it.

"It wouldn't be surprising if Rohit takes it easy for the New Zealand game, considering it is a largely inconsequential contest, with both teams already having booked their spots in the semifinals," the report mentioned. Gill, on the other hand, was not among the contingent during practice.

It will be interesting to see what combination the team chooses in case both their specialist openers are forced to sit out. Rishabh Pant might come in, but KL Rahul and Virat Kohli might be forced to open the innings. In a hypothetical scenario, if Kohli and Rahul do end up opening for India, then the batting line-up will still be deep, with Harshit Rana at number eight. Journalists who have covered the nets session have spoken on social media about Rana's ability to hit the ball hard. His height gives him the advantage to tonk the ball. He also boasts of a first-class hundred and has two fifties as well.

Meanwhile, India are playing its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai, while other teams are shuttling between three venues in Pakistan and the UAE. This is after India refused to travel to Pakistan for the 50-over tournament because of security concerns and political tensions.

India Likely XI vs New Zealand: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

India Champions Trophy 2025 Squad Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.

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