The Champions Trophy squad in India was announced a while back, but given happenings during the recent T20I series with England, there are talks of changes for the betterment of the squad. While India has picked 4 spinners for this marquee ICC event, seasoned all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has propped up Varun Chakravarti to be included in the squad. Chakravarti performed exceedingly well with the ball in the series against England, as he snatched 14 wickets in 5 matches, and was, not surprisingly, given the well-deserved man of the series award. Chakravarthi hasn’t yet played an ODI for India but is set to make his debut in the 50-over match against England.
However, if Chakravarthy impresses with the ball in the 50-over format as well, Ashwin says the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee will be ready to make some team changes to fit their mystery spinner in the Champions Trophy squad.
“We are all talking about whether he should have been there (Champions Trophy squad); I believe there is a chance he could be there anyway. I do have a feeling that he might get selected. There is a chance because all teams have named only a provisional squad. So, he could be chosen,” said R. Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
The India squad announced is only ‘provisional’, and changes are welcomed till February 11. While Varun could go on to make a case for his inclusion, Ashwin is still pondering who he would replace should he be selected. If any adjustments are made in the squad then it is not going to be easy for Rohit.
“However, if one sees the existing squad, if a seamer goes out and Varun comes in, it would mean an extra spinner joining the 15 in the squad. I do not know who they would want to drop if they think about getting Varun in, and that should be interesting. We will wait and see,” he added.
Varun might get his chance to play during the ODI series between India and England. I might not think that a direct step to the Champions Trophy would be an easy one. He has not played ODIs. I think he might get a chance in the ODI series between India and England,” said Ashwin.
“Otherwise, it’s a tough call. But anyways, congratulations to Varun on his first Player of the Tournament awards. He is the Chakravarthy of T20I cricket right now. I want him to grow in stature,” he concluded.