Poonam Nath

ICC Trophy 2025: Final Group A showdown to see IND vs NZ fierce battle today; Indian side to see changes in team

Digital Desk: The Indian cricket team all prepped up for their last Group A match in the ICC Champions Trophy against New Zealand on Sunday. India has performed admirably against the Kiwis, winning all five of their most recent ODI encounters.

With both sides having qualified for the Champions Trophy semi-finals, a few players might be rested. India captain Rohit Sharma is anticipated to make a few changes for the New Zealand match, giving bench players a chance to shine.

Concerns arise regarding Rohit Sharma's fitness have subsided after the captain batted during a lengthy net session on Friday. He is expected to begin with an in-form Shubman Gill, with Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer joining them in the middle.

KL Rahul is poised to supplant Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper once more. Pant may have been given a chance behind the stumps, but with Rahul in the pre-match press conference, that switch is ruled out.

Rohit-led team changes- Playing XI against New Zealand

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

Hardik Pandya is the only pace-bowling all-rounder in the team, and if the management considers including him for dead rubber, Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel might replace Washington Sundar. Mohammed Shami may be rested, with Arshdeep Singh replacing him, as Harshit Rana is preferred for pace attack.

Varun Chakravarthy is expected to replace Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI.