India add mystery spinner to ODI squad ahead of Champions Trophy

India have added Varun Chakravarthy to the squad for the ODI series against England ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025.

The leg-spinner was the leading wicket-taker for India in the IND vs ENG T20I series, picking up 14 wickets at an average of 9.8 in five games.

According to Indian media outlets, Varun Chakravarthy joined the India squad in Nagpur to train ahead of the first ODI on February 6.

The development came after the BCCI faced growing calls from cricket experts and former cricketers to consider the spinner for the ODI series and the Champions Trophy 2025.

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the most prominent cricketer to back the inclusion of Varun Chakravarthy after he dismantled the England batting lineup in the IND vs ENG T20I series.

“We are all talking about whether he should have been there (Champions Trophy squad), I am thinking there is a chance he might be there. I have a feeling he might make it,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

With the addition of Chakravarthy to the India squad for the ODI series against England, the side has now five spinners including Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav.

Reports said that the BCCI is likely to finalise four out of the five spinners for the Champions Trophy 2025.

While India have submitted their preliminary squad for the tournament, the deadline for the submission of the final squads is February 11.

Squad for England ODIs:

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 and Varun Chakaravarthy.