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Varun Chakravarthy should be in Champions Trophy squad, but then which spinner says bye-bye?

Varun Chakravarthy should be in Champions Trophy squad, but then which spinner says bye-bye?

Varun Chakravarthy's fine performance in the T20Is, has only increased the headache for the selection panel, for the Champions Trophy squad.

In the last two T20I series, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been named the Player of the series, and in the recent IND vs ENG one, he ended up picking 14 wickets, including a fifer in Rajkot. So that performance now means he has 33 wickets in 18 T20Is, at an average of 14 and an economy of 7.02.

Varun Chakravarthy Deserves to be in Champions Trophy Squad

That is what led to his belated inclusion in the ODI team as well. Mind you, Varun Chakravarthy hasn’t played any ODIs for India, but then if he does, and ends up performing well for the country, he should be given a chance in the Champions Trophy squad too. All the teams can change their squads until Feb 11, and that would be a great chance for India to include a spinner, with the x-factor.

After all, the Tamil Nadu bowler is a proven performer in the List A circuit — where he has picked 59 wickets in just 23 matches. That alone warrants a place in the Champions Trophy squad. Anyhow, let’s just assume, he is included in the squad, but then which spinner faces the axe in his place?

Choice Between Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar

Will it be Washington Sundar, or Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel? Well, tbh, Sundar looks like the one who might miss the cut, for no real fault of his own. Yes, there is hardly anything to differentiate among the three, as far as the skillset is concerned, but it might just boil down to overall ODI experience.

Jadeja is the most-experienced here, with 197 ODIs to his name. There he has picked 220 wickets at an economy of 4.88, and has scored 2756 runs at an average of 32. On the other hand, Axar has played 60 matches, with 64 wickets, and has scored 568 runs at an average of 20. His economy stands out at only 4.5

As for Washington, he has played only 22 ODIs, with 23 wickets to his name. To add to that, he has only 315 runs to his name, and hasn’t looked like the most effective ODI player, just because of the way he has been used — defensively. So, unfortunately, if a player has to be let go for Varun Chakravarthy, it has to be him.

India squad for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.

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