Varun Chakaravarthy added to India's squad for England ODIs, gets big boost ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Varun Chakaravarthy added to India's squad for England ODIs (BCCI Photo)

Varun Chakaravarthy, who has been impressive since making his return to the international fold, was added in India’s squad for the three-match ODI series against England, starting from February 6. Chakaravarthy has only represented India in the shorter format and it'll be interesting to see if head coach tries the mystery spinner in the 50-over format.

Chakaravarthy scalped 14 wickets in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against England, which India won 4-1. His impressive performance also included a five-wicket haul in Rajkot. He was named the player of the series for his stellar show.

Varun joined the ODI squad in Nagpur and was seen bowling in the nets. "Yes, Varun Chakravarthy is part of the squad," India vice-captain Shubman Gill had said earlier on Tuesday during a media interaction after the team's training.

India vs England ODI series: Live streaming details, complete squads, venues, match timings, TV channels

A report in PTI stated that it is understood that head coach Gautam Gambhir wants Chakravarthy to remain in rhythm and bowl to the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant.

Meanwhile, with the deadline for squad changes for the Champions Trophy set for February 12, he remains a strong candidate for selection. If we look at India's squad for the ICC tournament, which starts from February 19, the squad have got three finger spinners -- two left-armers (Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel) and one right-arm off-spinner in Washington Sundar. Kuldeep Yadav, who is returning to the Indian team after undergoing a sports hernia surgery in October 2024, is the lone wrist spinner in the squad.

Chakravarthy had a dismal outing when he last played on the flatter tracks in Dubai during the 2021 T20 World Cup, the venue for India in the Champions Trophy. However, he has shown significant improvement since returning to international cricket after a gap of three years, which was the T20Is against Bangladesh last October. He has since finished as India's leading wicket-taker in the three T20I series (Bangladesh, South Africa and England), which he has been a part of.

Chakravarthy also registered 18 wickets for Tamil Nadu in the National One Day Championship.

India’s updated squad for ODI series against England: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy