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Rohit Sharma explained India’s choice of Varun Chakarvarthy for the ODI squad against England due to his T20I performance. He also said KL Rahul will remain the main wicketkeeper, with Rishabh Pant as backup.
Varun Chakravarthy (Picture Credit: X/@BCCI)
Rohit Sharma has explained India’s last-minute call to include Varun Chakarvarthy in the squad for the ODI series against England, saying he showed ‘something different’ in the five-match T20I series which prompted India to consider the ‘opportunity’ to try him from 50-over cricket too.
The skipper didn’t commit to this call-up being a precursor to his inclusion in the 2025 Champions Trophy team but said he’d be in the scheme of things if things work out.
Chakaravarthy topped the charts with 14 wickets in five matches at an average of 9.86, troubling almost every visiting batter with his variations — the kind of incisiveness India has lacked in their ODI set-up outside Kuldeep Yadav. He’s yet to make his ODI debut but has an excellent List-A record, having picked up 59 wickets at an average of 14.13 and an economy rate of 4.28 in 23 matches.
“Yeah look, he has certainly shown something different,” Rohit said in the press conference on the eve of the first ODI in Nagpur. “I understand that it is a T20 format but he has clearly got something different about him. So we just wanted to have an option and see what we can do with him. Clearly during the series it presents us an opportunity to play him at some stage and see what he is capable of. Right now we are not thinking about whether we are going to take him or not but definitely we will be in contention. If things plan out really well for us and he does what is required then definitely there is something that we need to think about.”
Chakaravarthy was also the joint-highest wicket-taking spinner in the recent season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 18 scalps at 12.72.
Rohit Sharma offers clarity on wicketkeeping conundrum
The wicketkeeping debate has again caught fire in recent days with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant both seen reportedly practicing different aspects in the nets before the Nagpur match. However, Rohit’s comments suggested that India will stick with Rahul as the wicketkeeper to maintain ‘continuity’ and Pant will be the backup or an extra batting option.
“KL has been keeping wickets for us in the ODI format for a number of years now. He has done pretty well. If you look at the last 10-15 ODIs, he has done exactly what the team required him to do. Rishabh as well, he is there. We have got an option of playing either one of them. Both are quite capable of winning games on their own. It is a good predict to have whether to play KL or Rishabh. But obviously, looking at what we have done in the past, having that continuity is also very important for us. That is where we stand as a team with KL and Rishabh,” he said.
