India’s assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, emphasized the importance of maintaining the freshness of the bowling attack, considering the short turnaround between their final group stage match and the semi-final of the Champions Trophy 2025. Despite aiming to secure the top spot in their group by defeating New Zealand, India is mindful of the need to ensure their key bowlers are in optimal condition for the semi-final.
Ten Doeschate suggested that this strategic approach might involve managing the bowlers’ workloads in the match against New Zealand, potentially by not requiring them to bowl their full quota of overs. Both India and New Zealand have already qualified for the semi-finals, and their upcoming match will determine the group leader.
“We’ve had robust training sessions to prepare,” ten Doeschate stated. He highlighted that the team’s priority is to have their best players fully fit and available for the semi-final scheduled on March 4th. While acknowledging the desire to win against New Zealand to maintain momentum and top the group, he indicated a careful balancing act is needed.
Ten Doeschate explained that resting players for too long isn’t ideal either, as they need to keep match-ready. The challenge lies in managing the workload, especially for the seam bowlers. If they bowl their full ten overs in the group match and then have to bowl again within 36 hours in the semi-final, it could be a significant strain.
Therefore, one option under consideration is to strategically limit the overs bowled by certain bowlers during the New Zealand game, if the match situation allows. The coaching staff aims to manage this dynamically on the field to ensure the bowlers are as fresh as possible for both the semi-final and potentially the final.
Regarding captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness, after a minor injury concern in the previous game, ten Doeschate reassured that Sharma is fine. He mentioned that it’s a recurring issue that Sharma knows how to manage effectively.
Looking ahead to the match against New Zealand, ten Doeschate anticipates a spin-dominated contest. He noted that both teams possess quality spinners, and the Dubai pitch has favored spin bowling in the tournament so far. While India hadn’t initially expected such a strong emphasis on spin, their spinners have performed well, and the pitch conditions have been conducive to spin bowling.
Finally, addressing the wicketkeeping situation with both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the squad, ten Doeschate acknowledged that it’s been challenging for Rishabh Pant to be on the sidelines. However, he praised KL Rahul’s performance and emphasized the importance of keeping Pant prepared, as his opportunity might come at any time. He viewed having two high-caliber wicketkeepers as a positive situation for the team.
Discussing the Dubai pitch conditions, ten Doeschate observed that scoring has been relatively more challenging compared to typical high-scoring venues. He estimated that a score of 280-290 would be competitive on these pitches, requiring batsmen to adapt and build innings strategically, unlike pitches where 320+ scores are common.
