なぜインドはチャンピオンズトロフィーでジャデジャの代わりにヴァルン・チャクラヴァルティと対戦することを検討するのか

Varun Chakravarthy has been in phenomenal form in the recent past, emerging as one of India’s go-to spinners in the white-ball formats. On the national front, the Tamil Nadu spinner has only played in T20Is. But his List A record shows that he could be a viable spin option for India in the ICC Champions Trophy. While the Men in Blue have named four spinners in the squad – Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar – it would be wise for the team to play Chakravarthy in the playing XI instead of Jadeja, at least for some games if not all. After all, India can surely capitalize on the spinner’s form.

Chakravarthy > Jadeja for CT 2025?

While Chakravarthy surely does not offer the additional batting firepower for India, he is surely a force to be reckoned with when it comes to bowling. For starters, he finished as the second highest wicket-taker in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy. With 18 wickets from 6 matches, the TN spinner averaged a mind-boggling 12.16, much better than any other bowlers on the top 10 list of highest wicket-getters in the tournament. His List A record with the ball is phenomenal, as well. In just 23 domestic 50-over matches, he has 59 wickets to his name and averages 14.13. This includes four 5-wicket hauls as well.

One might point out that age and fitness could be a hinderance for Chakravarthy. After all, the 33-year-old has a history of dealing with injuries. But his calibre should actually prompt the BCCI to take the spinner under their wings and monitor his workload. As far as age is concerned, he is surely good to go as he faces significantly lesser risks when compared to pacers.

As far as Jadeja is concerned, the veteran all-rounder will be playing his first ODI since the World Cup in 2023 when India take on England after the T20I series. The Saurashtra cricketer is indeed one of the best spinners for India in ODIs, with 220 wickets from 197 matches. However, his lack of recent experience in white-ball cricket makes it a gamble for India to take if he is included in the playing XI in Champions Trophy. Talking about the batting depth for India, the team has resources like Axar Patel and Washington Sundar who can boost the batting line-up down the order. Hence, there is no actual need for Jadeja to be included in the playing XI. Instead, India can go ahead with Chakravarthy, who is in red-hot form and could deliver better results with the ball perhaps than Jadeja.