Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh urged India head coach Gautam Gambhir to include Varun Chakravarthy in the playing XI against New Zealand. The Men in Blue will take on the Kiwis in their final group stage fixture of the Champions Trophy on Sunday. Singh opined that Gambhir could experiment with the mystery spinner as New Zealand weren’t great at playing spin.
Will India go with four spinners against New Zealand?
In a video on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan opined that India going with four spinners against New Zealand will be effective. He said that the addition of Varun to the playing XI will be a good option. Singh added that this would mean Hardik Pandya could get to share the new ball with Shami and not needing to bowl his entire quota of 10 overs.
“Think we might get to see Varun Chakravarthy get a chance in the playing XI. Maybe Gautam Gambhir would think that New Zealand don’t play spin that well. So it can also happen that four spinners play here. Hardik had bowled well against Pakistan. He has to bowl just seven or eight overs. If Hardik shares the new ball with Shami and then we have four spinners, I think that will be a good option,” Harbhajan said.
Latest news
- Most consecutive wins in T20 World Cup ft. Team India
![Predicted India Playing XI vs Namibia: Sanju Samson to make T20 World Cup debut; Bumrah replaces Siraj?]()
- Suryakumar Yadav captaincy record in all formats
![Ticket refund announced for Lucknow fans after IND vs SA 4th T20I was abandoned due to bad weather]()
- RCB not homeless anymore, M Chinnaswamy Stadium gets clearance to host IPL 2026 matches
![DRS Feb 7: RCB likely to be bought by Man Utd, Siraj replaces Harshit Rana & Pakistan's boycott u-turn]()
Harbhajan Singh’s playing XI vs NZ
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami
“Toss will be a big factor in Dubai as well because of how the heat has been increasing. In this heat, this pitch will be even slower. So whichever team wins the toss, they should look to bat first. Bat first and score runs. India, hopefully, would be thinking from that perspective. As the sun sets, the pitch will be useful for the spinners,” he added.
