India Adds KKR Spinner For 3 ODIs vs England!! No Fitness Update On Jasprit Bumrah
Published - 05 Feb 2025, 10:07 AM | Updated - 20 Feb 2025, 11:36 PM
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has added the mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy to the ODI squad for the three-match series against England. The Tamil Nadu spinner had an excellent time during the blue brigade’s recently concluded 4-1 series victory against the Jos Buttler-led side.
Varun was the leading wicket-taker of the series, thanks to 14 scalps in five innings at an average of below 10. His strike rate of 7.71 was fantastic, along with his economy rate of 7.66, as he exposed England’s struggle against the spinners, especially on the slow surfaces. He traveled with the national squad to Nagpur, the venue for the opening ODI.
The Karnataka-born trained on February 04 (Tuesday) ahead of the series opener on February 06 (Thursday). Despite being part of 18 T20Is to celebrate 33 wickets, he is still uncapped in the 50-over format. Even in the List-A games for Tamil Nadu, Varun has featured in 23 encounters to record 59 scalps at an average of 14.13 and a strike rate of below 20.
Varun Chakaravarthy added to India’s ODI squad vs England
Chakaravarthy finished the 2024-25 season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as the second leading wicket-taker. In six innings, the right-arm spinner picked up 18 wickets at an average of 12.16 and an economy rate of 4.36, shouldering on two five-wicket hauls.
Varun’s presence in India’s ODI squad will strengthen a spin attack with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar. Apart from Axar and Jadeja, all of the other spinners bring a different dimension and angle for the Rohit Sharma-led side.
Chakaravarthy’s inclusion is a significant move from the selectors, considering these 50-over games against England are the first ODI since August last year. Their only series in 2024 was the maiden international trip for Gautam Gambhir as India’s head coach in Sri Lanka. These three ODIs against the Jos Buttler-led side are also the only 50-over games they will be playing before the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to begin on February 19.
A few of the specialist bowlers are returning to the ICC event’s squad. Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t featured in any Indian game since the opening Test against New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He also missed the five-match red-ball series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia due to a groin injury.
Men in Blue struggling with injuries
Mohammad Shami marked his international return after nearly 15 months through the T20I series. However, he is also expected to play his first ODI since the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both these two games are on the comeback trail from respective injuries.
The concern has still been on India’s premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, who injured his back during the fifth Test down under at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). He is supposed to go through a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru before potentially making a comeback in the third Ahmedabad ODI of the England series.
Also Read: Pakistan Defends Champions Trophy 2025 Squad Selection Despite Criticism
The selectors have kept Harshit Rana in the 16 for the first two games. His presence in the side for the third fixture will decide his fate in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. India can make changes to their Champions Trophy squad until February 11 without approval from the ICC.
India’s Updated ODI squad vs England
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana (first two ODIs), Jasprit Bumrah (third ODI), Varun Chakravarthy
