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With the help of five centuries and one fifty, Rohit Sharma scored 648 runs in nine matches of the 2019 ODI World Cup for India.
Rohit Sharma scored 648 runs in nine matches of 2019 ODI World Cup for India. (Picture Credit: AP)
Rohit Sharma was horribly out of form in the recently concluded Test series against Australia. He played in three matches and was only able to score 31 runs. But despite his recent performances, former Indian middle-order batter Suresh Raina has backed him to do well for India in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. The 2025 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will be played from February 19 to March 9 in three venues across Pakistan and one in Dubai. Rohit will lead India in the eight-team tournament, which is making a comeback after eight years.
According to Raina, Rohit can repeat his performances of the 2019 ODI World Cup in the Champions Trophy this year. Rohit was on fire for India in the 2019 World Cup, and with the help of five centuries, he scored 648 runs, which was the most by any player in the tournament.
“When Rohit wasn’t selected in the 2011 World Cup team, he felt really bad. Hence, he wanted to make it count in the Champions Trophy 2013. The conditions in Dubai will be completely different from the last time we won in England, and he knows how to handle that situation. If Rohit ends up playing till 20–25 overs, I won’t be surprised if he repeats his 2019 World Cup heroics,” Raina was quoted as saying by India Today.
Rohit, who first opened for India in ODIs during the 2013 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, will play as an opener in the 2025 Champions Trophy. But it will be interesting to see who out of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill is preferred as his opening partner. Gill has been India’s best ODI batter in the last couple of years, whereas Jaiswal has also made a big name for himself in international cricket and is India’s most in-form batter at present.
In the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, India will open its campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai and then face arch-rivals Pakistan in the second Group A match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23. India’s third and final group stage match is scheduled against New Zealand on March 2.