Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli behind Gautam Gambhir's Varun Chakaravarthy masterstroke: 'They'll have to speak with Agarkar'
India head coach Gautam Gambhir was behind the move, with the Champions Trophy spot still up for discussion with chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Following his heroics in the recently concluded T20I series against England, in-form mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy joined India's training camp in Nagpur ahead of the ODI series against the 2019 world champions. Chakaravarthy was not initially picked for the three-match ODI contest against England, yet he was seen bowling in the nets on Tuesday, which instantly sparked questions about whether the bowler was on the verge of making the Champions Trophy squad. However, as it reportedly stands, India head coach Gautam Gambhir was behind the move, with the Champions Trophy spot still up for discussion with chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

According to a report in the PTI, Gambhir wanted Chakaravarthy to "keep up the momentum" and bowl to Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant in the nets.
Chakaravarthy has been going through a stellar run in white-ball cricket. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament, which concluded last month, the Tamil Nadu spinner snared 18 wickets in six innings, the second-most by a bowler, at 12.16 (also the second-best among bowlers who featured in minimum 5 innings). In the T20I series against England that followed, he picked 14 wickets in five games and was adjudged the 'Player of The Series'.
Chakaravarthy was later officially added to the ODI squad for the series against India, however, the report added that he is unlikely to make the Champions Trophy squad if he fails to make his debut in the contest against England. Notably, the deadline for submitting the final squad for the ICC tournament is February 12.
'They'll have to speak with Agarkar'
India already have four spinners in the Champions Trophy team - two left-armers Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, one right-arm off-spinner in Washington Sundar and one leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who is set to make a return to the Indian team after undergoing a sports hernia surgery in October 2024.
The PTI report clarified that with Chakaravarthy not in Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy squad, Gambhir called him up to join the Indian ODI team merely as a net bowler.
"As of now, the team management wanted Varun to bowl in ODI squad nets ahead of England series. Varun doesn't play red-ball cricket," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity. "With domestic white ball season already concluded, he doesn't have any assignments till start of IPL end March. He is in good rhythm and they want him to continue that," he added.
When further asked if there is a possibility of him making the cut to the Champions Trophy, the source replied: "The selectors have already picked four spinners and you only have three ODI games. But if team management wants Varun, it will certainly have to speak to the chairman of selection committee Ajit Agarkar. Whether they intend to or not, is still not known."
When the 33-year-old last played in Dubai, in the 2021 T20 World Cup, he failed to make an impact on the flatter tracks. But Chakaravarthy has improved immensely since then, focusing more on over-spin to refine his variations. However, it is to be seen who will he replace in the final 15 to make the cut.
