Change seems to be inevitable as mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has joined the India squad ahead of the ODI series opener against England. Chakravarthy, who was the pick of the bowlers for India in the 5-match T20I series against England, has been backed by many to break into the team’s ODI squad. However, he wasn’t named in India’s squad for the ODI assignment. Yet, has been spotted with the boys in Nagpur where the first one-day international is scheduled to be held on Thursday.
Rumours of Chakravarthy being added to India’s squad for the Champions Trophy were rife for a while but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, decided to leave him out of the marquee event. The Kolkata Knight Riders spinner wasn’t picked for the ODI series against England too.
However, seeing him train with the Indian team in Nagpur, the management has dropped a big hint over a dramatic change in plans.
Chakravarthy was the player of the series against England, having bagged a whopping 14 wickets in 5 matches. However, the mystery spinner hasn’t yet made his ODI debut.
: “Varun Chakravarthy has been included in the squad for the ODI series against England.” #INDvsENG #Varunchakravarthy pic.twitter.com/YLW4qLrcuP
— DEEP SINGH (@CrazyCricDeep) February 4, 2025
Chakravarthy has been backed for Champions Trophy selection by Ravichandran Ashwin too. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that he feels the KKR star would be on the flight to Dubai for the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.
The BCCI has only announced the provisional India squad for the Champions Trophy, of which Chakravarthy isn’t a part. However, changes can be made to the roster till February 11. If Chakravarthy is to make the cut, he would need to impress the selectors in the ODI series against England. But, if he would be picked for the opener or not, isn’t yet known.
India squad for three-match ODI series: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.
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