Varun Chakravarthy Joins India’s Champions Trophy 2025 Squad
India has announced a significant change to its squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, bringing in wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy in place of batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal. Chakravarthy made his international debut just recently during the ongoing ODI series against England, where he played in the second match in Cuttack and took one wicket for 53 runs in ten overs.
Meanwhile, Jaiswal also debuted in the same series but struggled to make an impact, scoring only 15 runs off 22 balls in the series opener held in Nagpur. With veteran player Virat Kohli returning to fitness and Shreyas Iyer showing good form in the first match, Jaiswal found himself sidelined for the next game.
Jaiswal has now been placed among the reserve players for the tournament, joining fellow reserves Shivam Dube and Mohammed Siraj. On the other hand, Chakravarthy has been impressive since returning to the international scene. Since October 2024, he has taken 31 wickets in 12 innings, boasting an average of 11.25 and an economy rate of 7.18, which includes two five-wicket hauls.
Chakravarthy’s outstanding performance recently earned him the Player of the Series title in a five-match T20I series against England, where he claimed 14 wickets at an average of 9.85. His remarkable form has also propelled him into the top five of the ICC T20I rankings.
In a setback for the Indian team, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will miss the tournament due to a lower back injury. He has been replaced by Harshit Rana, who debuted in the first ODI against England and took three wickets.
India’s Squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025:
- Rohit Sharma (Captain)
- Shubman Gill (Vice-captain)
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper)
- Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper)
- Hardik Pandya
- Axar Patel
- Washington Sundar
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Harshit Rana
- Mohammed Shami
- Arshdeep Singh
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Varun Chakravarthy
Non-Traveling Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Shivam Dube will be on standby and will travel to Dubai as needed.
