Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja snubbed by Harbhajan Singh in bold predictions for India's Champions Trophy squad

Harbhajan, who is very vocal about his views, asserted that Sanju Samson should be picked over Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper batter in the squad.

Veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has made some bold suggestions for India's squad for next month's Champions Trophy. The Test series losses to New Zealand and Australia have put head coach Gautam Gambhir and the selection committee under the scanners, as a few selection calls in recent times have backfired. BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla has stated that the meeting for Champions Trophy squads will take place betwen January 18-19. The selection committee has yet to announce the squad for the mega ICC event, and the former cricketers have started making predictions for it.

India's Rishabh Pant warms up in the training session.(AFP)

Harbhajan, who is very vocal about his views and opinions, asserted that Sanju Samson should be picked over Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper batter in the squad.

"I think one among Sanju Samson or Rishabh Pant should be picked. I feel Sanju should be preferred because he had played in South Africa. Rishabh played well in Australia, but it was a long tour, so if he is rested, it's not a big thing," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.

Samson has already pipped Pant in the pecking order for T20Is with his recent exploits with the bat. After Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is, Sanju grabbed the opportunity with both hands. While opening for India in the shortest format of cricket, he showed his class against Bangladesh on home turf with a century. The wicketkeeper batter then went on to etch his name in the history book by becoming the first batter to tonk three centuries in T20Is in a calendar year.

‘I have chosen Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja’

Meanwhile, Harbhajan made another bold prediction of picking Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja, who has been a mainstay in India's ODI set-up for the past few years. Jadeja, an all-rounder who has delivered in all spectrums of the game for years, is now facing a scenario where he could be axed from the squad. With the recent surge of Axar Patel, there is a high chance that only one out of the two could be on the plane to Dubai.

"I have chosen Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja. I think Axar is ready to fulfil the role that Jadeja has done for so many years," he added.