Home
The team management chose Varun Chakravarthy over Yashasvi Jaiswal, and India captain Rohit Sharma explained why. India's 15-man Champions Trophy 2025 lineup included Chakravarthy as a late addition, taking Yashasvi Jaiswal's spot. Following impressive T20I performances since returning to international cricket, the wrist-spinner recently made his ODI debut in the series against England. In his first Champions Trophy appearance, Chakravarthy took five wickets to help India defeat New Zealand by 44 runs, living up to the selectors' expectations.
Rohit Sharma on Varun Chakravarthy's selection
After his game-winning effort, Rohit Sharma was asked why Chakravarthy was chosen by the team management and selectors. The India captain disclosed that because of Dubai's spin-friendly surface, Chakravarthy may always be included in the starting lineup.
"With Varun, especially, we felt we had to sacrifice a batsman, which we thought it's only five games in this tournament. And it's very unlikely that the batter is going to play at any stage, unless there's an injury. And you don't make team thinking the worst, which is someone getting injured. If somebody is injured, you can always call them upon. But with Varun, we knew that there is a chance that he might play without any injury in the team. I know there are four spinners and all of that, but we played four spinners today," said Rohit in the pre-match press conference ahead of the semi-final.
In addition, Rohit clarified that Rishabh Pant was already available as a backup batter in case of an injury. In light of the venue's conditions, they added Chakravarthy as an extra spinner.
"So, looking at the surfaces here, hearing about what has happened in Dubai in the past two months. There's a lot of cricket that has been played. So, we somehow kind of knew that the surfaces are going to be slow. We were watching ILT20, which was played here. And we thought the slower bowlers will be a lot more helpful. And then we've got a batter sitting in the dugout anyway. And if we need a batter to come in, Rishabh is there for us. So, we thought with an extra option of the spin, there's always a chance that we can play those guys. So that was pretty much the thinking behind that," he added.
Chakravarthy's astonishing performance since return
In just his second ODI, Chakravarthy claimed his first fifer while assisting India in extending their winning streak in the competition. Chakravarthy has risen quickly in international cricket since rejoining the Indian squad in October 2024. In 12 Twenty20 Internationals, he has taken 31 wickets at an incredible average of 11.25 and an economy rate of 7.18, including two five-wicket hauls.
The wrist-spinner, who took 14 wickets at an average of 9.85 in the five-match T20I series against England, was also awarded Player of the Series. The 33-year-old will want to cause the batter as much grief as he has in the ODIs with his variations in the semi-final match against Australia on March 4.
