Varun Chakaravarthy To Continue, 1 Player Out? India’s Likely Playing XI Against Australia
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India will face Australia in the first semifinal match of the Champions Trophy 2025 on Tuesday, March 4, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
India’s likely playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal against Australia. (Picture Credit: PTI)
India will face Australia in the first semifinal of the Champions Trophy 2025 on Tuesday (March 4). The match between the two most successful teams in the Champions Trophy history will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India topped the Group A points table by getting the better of New Zealand by 44 runs in the last match played in Dubai on Sunday, March 2. In that fixture, Varun Chakaravarthy picked up five wickets for 42 runs in his quota of 10 overs. It was his first Champions Trophy match for India, and after breaking Mohammed Shami’s record of best bowling figures on Champions Trophy debut, the 33-year-old mystery spinner is almost certain to play in the semifinal.
Chakaravarthy was included in place of Harshit Rana for the New Zealand match, and there is a high possibility that the fast bowler will warm the bench once again. Indian team management is unlikely to make any changes to the playing XI for the knockout match unless there is any injury-related issue, which as of now has not been reported.
Shami has failed to take any wickets in his last two matches for Team India, and there is no threat to his place in the side despite the presence of Arshdeep Singh in the squad. Shami has always performed well for India in ICC tournaments, and in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, he will continue to lead the pace attack.
Wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has failed to do much with the bat in the last two matches, but despite that, in all likelihood, he will play ahead of Rishabh Pant.
If Indian team management considers including one pacer for the semifinal match, then one player who could sit out is Ravindra Jadeja because Kuldeep Yadav and Chakaravarthy are in red-hot form with the ball and Axar Patel has made his presence felt with batting, bowling, and fielding in the three matches played so far in the tournament.
But it is highly unlikely that for the high-stakes game India will leave the senior player out.
India’s likely playing XI for the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal against Australia: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
