Gautam Gambhir justifies Jaiswal’s exclusion with brutal Chakaravarthy ‘X-factor’ statement

Gautam Gambhir explained the reason behind including Varun Chakaravarthy in India's Champions Trophy squad, and excluding Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Varun Chakaravarthy’s inclusion in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad at the expense of Yashasvi Jaiswal has caught everyone’s attention, particularly after the spinner missed the third and final ODI vs England. Less than 24 hours after being included in the squad instead of Jaiswal, Chakaravarthy got ruled out of the fixture due to a sore right calf.

Gautam Gambhir explained Yashasvi Jaiswal's Champions Trophy snub and Varun Chakaravarthy's inclusion.

He was replaced by Kuldeep Yadav in Ahmedabad, and with Chakaravarthy’s addition to the Champions Trophy squad, the Indian squad now has as many as five spinners at their disposal. It shows that spin could play a prominent role in India’s hybrid model fixtures.

Gautam Gambhir justifies decision

Explaining the KKR star’s selection and the absence of Jaiswal, India head coach Gautam Gambhir said, “The only reason was because we wanted another wicket-taking option in the middle and we know that what Varun Chakravarthy brings to the table.”

Calling him ‘a X-factor’, Gambhir clarified that even if Chakaravarthy doesn’t get included in the playing XI, his addition makes the bowling line-up stronger. “We know that Varun can be a massive threat and with a lot of teams who haven’t played him and he could be a X-factor as well. I’m not going to say that he’s going to start and all that stuff but it’s always good to have a strong bowling line-up,” he said.

Meanwhile, he also had some words for Jaiswal and predicted ‘a fabulous future’ for the opener. “Because we know that if he can actually get those wickets in the middle, it’s always going to be an advantage and that was one of the reasons otherwise we know that Yashasvi has got a fabulous future ahead, it’s just that we could only pick 15,” he added.

Chakaravarthy made his India debut on July 25, 2021, and has featured in 18 T20Is. But he has only appeared in one ODI, against England on February 9. Meanwhile, Jaiswal also made his ODI debut in the same series, and has appeared in 23 T20Is and 18 Tests. He made his India debut on July 12, 2023.