Ex-Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said captain Rohit Sharma "strongly believed" that wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul would play a major role in the Champions Trophy 2025 and the tours after that. "Rohit said that one of the things he was really keen on me doing was working with KL," Nayar added. Rahul scored 140 runs in four CT 2025 innings.