Varun Chakravarthy in India's ODI-A new chapter for the series against England

Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who impressed everyone with his different bowling style, has been chosen for India's ODI team against England. His recent impressive performances, especially in T20I, have catapulted him into the national arena. He did not make it to India's Champions Trophy team which had four spinners but his consistency in the shorter format of the game has surely brought him a well-deserved place in the 50-over team.

Chakravarthy is the latest in a string of recent excellent performances, especially after an outstanding 2024 season for the IPL. He plays for Kolkata Knight Riders and had taken 21 wickets to be a big factor in the team's successful title-winning season. His work for the IPL made him an automatic choice in India's T20I team, and he has carried on from there in international cricket. Such was the performance of Chakravarthy in the T20I series just concluded with England, that he ended up grabbing the Player of the Series award. His variations were an absolute puzzle to the English batters, as he outwitted them at every single instance. Now, he is turning out to be one of India's most potent mystery spinners for T20I and ready to cause huge ripples in the 50-over version too.

There are names missing from the Champions Trophy squad of India, but among all those names, Varun Chakravarthy's inclusion has been supported with great gusto. Cricketing legends like R Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik have spoken saying they feel that Varun Chakravarthy definitely needs to be a part of the Champions Trophy team. Till date, there is Kuldeep Yadav alone as an ODI spin frontline, other three all-rounders, in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, providing back-up by turning the crank for the outfit. But to see Chakravarthy into that series against visiting English is as if the selection board has something for these ones with little or no experience of IPL cricket that can give slow, step by step contribution into Indians bowling front line.

Cricket updates - In the latest cricketing update, Indians' hope suffered a blow : young cricketer Samson who is currently on his first last game from three games, the T20I against English was injured - smashes the left index finger. In the medical tests conducted, he was found to have to be kept out of action for at least six weeks. He arrived in the T20I series of matches in fine fettle; this was his last five matches saw him get thrice on a hundred. However, when his team was playing England, Samson did not do much. He managed to score 51 runs in five matches only. But Samson has faced the short ball in the series, and this injury doesn't look like a major issue. He will fully recover and then join the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League when he will lead the side.

The IPL season is in much demand, but another important thing happening in Indian cricket is that Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav committed themselves to Mumbai's Ranji Trophy campaign. Although they both were part of the India T20I squad, they are not currently part of the ODI mix. After the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) emphasized the importance of national players being available for domestic competitions, Dube and Yadav have made themselves available for Mumbai’s knockout fixtures in the Ranji Trophy. This is seen as a positive move for domestic cricket, with both players eager to contribute to Mumbai’s push for the title. Mumbai’s next challenge is their quarterfinal match against Haryana in Lahli.

The inclusion of Varun Chakravarthy into the ODI squad will spot light on his ascension to potentially one of the brightest bowling prospects in India, especially for limited-overs formats. His great performance by excellent performance in IPL and T20I series against England puts him in a very good position to make a difference during the upcoming ODI series against England. This mystery spin will be the key for Chakravarthy in the conditions expected in the series, where he is looking to reflect his success at the international level in 50-over cricket.

The immediate series that all are waiting to see is of course the show thrown on by Chakravarthy's in the ODI format, and the much-needed recovery Samson has for the IPL. The mystery spinner added to this cauldron injects a much-needed freshness into India's bowling attack and his increase of presence in the international cricket might add much excitement to India's future cricketing ventures.