After an impressive outing in the five-match T20I series against England and earning the Player of the Series Award, Varun Chakaravarthy has been added to the ODI squad. India will be playing three ODIs against England with the first one to be staged at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
Shubman Gill, India’s vice-captain Varun Chakaravarthy confirmed Varun’s addition to the squad during a press conference ahead of the first ODI. The mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu was seen practicing with the Men in Blue’s ODI squad in Nagpur on Tuesday after India’s 4-1 series victory in the T20I series. Previously, he was just the part of T20I series. However, a late call has been made following his tremendous performance in T20Is.
Varun picked up 14 wickets from five matches at an extraordinary bowling average of 9.86 during the England series. He also had an outstanding IPL 2025 for the champions Kolkata Knight Riders, bagging 21 wickets from 14 innings. The 33-year-old has worked a lot on his overspin and googly, making time difficult for the opposition batters in the middle.
Recently retired Indian cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik advocated Varun’s addition to the Champions Trophy squad.
“We are all talking about whether he should have been there (Champions Trophy squad). I think there is a chance he might be there. I have a feeling he might make it. There is a chance because all teams have named only a provisional squad. So he might get picked,” said Ashin on his YouTube channel.
India have already announced their provisional squad for the Champions Trophy with Rohit Sharma as the captain. They will be playing their first game of the league stage against Bangladesh on February 20.
