Did India commit a mistake by not picking Varun Chakravarthy for Champions Trophy 2025?

Team India has found a new bowling hero and it is none other than Varun Chakravarthy. The 33-year-old Kolkata Knight Riders star picked his second fifer for India in T20I format. Chakravarthy bowled four overs and picked up five wickets for 24 runs to break the back of England’s batting. 

It has been an amazing return to international cricket for a bowler who seemed to be sidelined for long. Chakravarthy made his India debut during the tour of Sri Lanka in 2021 and was dropped after his unimpressive showing during the World Cup in the same year. 

Since his return, Chakravarthy has made up for lost time and bamboozled some of the best batters in the world. This rich haul of wickets though didn’t earn the KKR star a spot in the ODI team for the England series and Champions Trophy 2025 tournament. Indian selectors have named Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar as the four spin bowlers in the squad. 

Does Varun Chakravarthy deserve a chance in the ODI format?

If we look at the List A numbers of Varun Chakravarthy in recent times, it has been nothing short of sensation. The 33-year-old played six games during the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy and picked 18 wickets for Tamil Nadu. Chakravarthy also picked two fifers against Mizoram and Rajasthan, respectively. 

India’s latest bowling sensation was given his national call-up after taking 35 wickets in two seasons of the IPL in 2020 and 2021. Chakravarthy managed to pick just six wickets from 11 matches during the 2022 season. This was followed by 41 wickets from 29 matches in the next two IPL editions, which also saw KKR win the title in 2024. 

Chakravarthy picked just two wickets from his first six matches before being dropped. The next ten matches have seen the bowler fetch 27 wickets with two fifers and establish himself as a feared bowler in the shortest format. 

Varun Chakravarthy versus Washington Sundar analysis 

Team India will opt to play Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav as their lead spinners. The decision to include Washington Sundar is a surprise considering the inconsistent form the 25-year-old has shown so far. 

If we look at the table, it is clear that Chakravarthy has a better List A record than Sundar. The 33-year-old has been effectively used in the middle-overs by his state side in the List A format. India will be playing all their matches in Dubai and Chakravarthy could have been included in the team to play the role of an enforcer with the ball. 

The likes of New Zealand and Bangladesh would have struggled to pick his variations. With an economy of just 4.28 runs per over, Chakravarthy would have put pressure on the opposition batters, which could have created wicket-taking chances for India. From the numbers above, it seems like India has missed a trick by not picking Varun Chakravarthy considering his current form.