India, Dec. 10 -- Out of the 15-member India squad that travelled to the UAE for the Champions Trophy in February-March this year, only three players failed to feature in a single game. Fast bowler Arshdeep Singh was one of them. Despite finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the 2024/25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Harshit Rana was preferred over the left-armer as India's third seamer, an indication that had already become clear during the pre-tournament home series against England. The team management stuck to their plan despite the outside chatter surrounding Arshdeep's exclusion.

On Tuesday, after the opening T20I of the five-match series against South Africa in Cuttack, former India wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa asked Arshdeep about that Cha...