Varun Chakravarthy with Kuldeep Yadav during a practice session ahead of the first ODI cricket match against England, at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, on February 4, 2025
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak
In a late development, mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy was added to India’s squad for the three-match one-day series against England that gets underway in Nagpur on Thursday (February 6, 2025).
The 33-year-old was in sizzling form in the recently concluded T20 series, where he bamboozled the English batters, scalping 14 wickets in five games to be adjudged the player of the series.
He trained at the VCA Stadium on Tuesday.
This is Varun’s maiden call-up to the one-day international set-up, and should he continue his form, it raises the possibility of him even being an eleventh-hour inclusion for the Champions Trophy that starts later this month. India will play all its matches in Dubai.
Big surprise
His inclusion, though, comes as a surprise, considering India has four spinners, including Kuldeep Yadav and all-rounders Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
The TN spinner has largely been seen as a T20 bowler and has been impressive in the IPL over the last two years.
It helped him come back into the national squad late last year, and he has quickly become India’s leading strike bowler in T20Is, taking 31 wickets in 12 matches.
Even as he has dominated in T20s, Varun has been equally impressive in the last two years for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day competition.
He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the previous two editions of the domestic one-day competition.
He took 19 wickets in eight games last year and had 18 scalps in six outings this season.
Recently, former India cricketers Dinesh Karthik and R. Ashwin batted for his inclusion in the Champions Trophy squad.
This series is crucial for India’s preparations for the Champions Trophy.
It gives the management a chance to test the match fitness of key bowlers like Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav, especially given the uncertainty surrounding Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness.
Shami played two matches in his international comeback in the T20 series against England.
Kuldeep’s last international contest was against New Zealand in the first Test at Bengaluru in October before he was sidelined with a groin injury.
The left-arm wrist spinner missed the whole domestic season and returned to action only for Uttar Pradesh’s final Ranji Trophy league encounter against Madhya Pradesh, which concluded on Sunday.
The India squad:
Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Shubman Gill (Vice-capt.), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Published – February 04, 2025 06:35 pm IST
