Month: December 2024

The Indian selectors are going to take a big call ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in February next year. Team India are supposed to play in a limited-overs series against England which features five T20I games and three ODIs beginning on January 22 in Kolkata.

The ODI series between India and England will kick off on February 6. The three 50-over matches will be the last international preparation ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which will kick off February 19.

But according to a report on ‘Sports Tak’ website, the Indian selectors are getting ready to rest seniors cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah for the ODI series against 2019 ODI World Cup champions England. Rohit and Kohli have already retired from international T20 cricket earlier this year after the T20 World Cup 2024 but the selectors are planning to rest the three senior India cricketers keeping ‘workload management’ in mind.

Rohit and Kohli featured in just three ODI matches in 2024 – all against Sri Lanka – which India went on to lose 2-0 and one match ended in a tie.

With the Champions Trophy 2025 on the horizon, it would be more practical for the batting duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to make themselves available for the three-match ODI series against England. The series would offer valuable preparation for the mega event. Currently, Rohit, Virat, and Bumrah are in Australia, participating in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). While the batting duo has struggled to find form, the Indian speedster has been carrying the side on his shoulders, claiming 30 wickets across four Test matches.

The Champions Trophy 2025 is set to begin on February 19 and will follow a hybrid model. All India-centric matches, as well as the semifinals, will be held in Dubai. Should India reach the final, it too will take place in Dubai. India’s campaign will commence on February 20 against Bangladesh, followed by a high-stakes clash with arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23.

The ICC has divided the participating teams into two groups. Group A consists of defending Champions Trophy holders and hosts Pakistan, along with India, New Zealand, and Bangladesh. Group B includes 2023 Cricket World Cup champions Australia, Afghanistan, England, and South Africa.

As the Champions Trophy approaches, the ODI series against England could serve as an ideal platform for Rohit and Virat to regain their rhythm and for the team to fine-tune its preparations ahead of the highly anticipated tournament.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a very devoted husband and family man these days. Dhoni has been seen enjoying the Christmas vacations with wife Sakshi Dhoni and daughter Ziva Singh Dhoni in Dubai.

On the latest episode of an online talk show, ‘Tread Talks’ on the Eurogrips Tyres official YouTube channel, Dhoni opened up about plenty of things. One of the questions that Dhoni was asked on the ‘Tread Talks’ show was about the ‘best compliment’ the former India captain had ever received.

Dhoni took a moment to answer the question and said, “My wife saying ‘You have done alright in life’ – that is a big compliment as she doesn’t give much compliment – we all are trying to impress our wife”.

WATCH MS Dhoni speaking about trying to impress Sakshi Dhoni HERE…

The former captain of the Chennai Super Kings franchise was also about his decision to stay away from social media platforms. The 43-year-old said that he has never been a fan of social media.

“I have never been a big fan of Social Media – through out I have had different managers – I started playing in 2004, twitter was almost got popular slightly later on then Instagram came – all the managers are like we should some PR, build this, build that so I looked at all and told the same answer, if I play good cricket, I don’t need PR,” Dhoni said on the talk show.

MS Dhoni would never take Suresh Raina as ‘bike-riding’ partner

On the talk show, Dhoni also revealed why he would never take former India and Chennai Super Kings teammate Suresh Raina as a bike-riding partner.

“In the sense, you know, to put it very simply, in a motorcycle, unlike a car, you know, whether it’s your fault or not, if there’s an accident or if you fall, you will get hurt and most of the athletes, they are very worried about their joints, especially knees and elbows,” Dhoni said.

“Most of the players, they stay away from it. But people who have sat with me on a bike and we have been on a ride, I can pick one who I would not, you know, take as a companion and that would be Suresh Raina because, you know, he starts moving. So, if he sees a truck, you know, getting close, he starts to move along,” the CSK wicketkeeper added.

Dhoni has taken a massive pay-cut to play for CSK in the IPL 2025 season. The former India wicketkeeper was retained for just Rs 4 crore by CSK as an ‘uncapped’ player ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

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