It may not be the same format, but Indian Premier League (IPL) is likely to impact India's plans for the 2023 ODI World Cup, if not entirely, but definitely to some extent. Selectors and the team management will keep an eye on the players in contention for the the role and on fringe options as well. Batting legend Virender Sehwag agrees with the same as he sent out a humongous warning to Indian spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal over new contender for the World Cup team in the spin department.
India so far have five spin options for the ODI World Cup, slated to be held at home in October this year. Three of them are all-rounders - Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, and two of them are specialist options - Kuldeep and Chahal.
Sehwag, in conversation with Cricbuzz on Thursday, casually namedropped a third contender for the role. He named Kolkata Knight Riders star Varun Chakravarthy as being a possible contender, provided he has a season as special and impactful as Dinesh Karthik had in 2022 which had forced selectors to think otherwise.
"Varun Chakravarthy doesn't have the ball that goes away like a proper wrist spinner. He relies on topspin and googlies predominantly and the RCB batters didn't play him well, getting played-on a couple of times. Who knows, a great season here could make him a contender for the 2023 World Cup in India," he said moments after KKR's win against RCB in Kolkata where Varun picked four wickets for just 15 runs in four overs.
{{/usCountry}}"Varun Chakravarthy doesn't have the ball that goes away like a proper wrist spinner. He relies on topspin and googlies predominantly and the RCB batters didn't play him well, getting played-on a couple of times. Who knows, a great season here could make him a contender for the 2023 World Cup in India," he said moments after KKR's win against RCB in Kolkata where Varun picked four wickets for just 15 runs in four overs.
{{/usCountry}}Varun, however, remains far from being selected for the Indian team. While he is yet to make an appearance in ODIs, Varun last played for India in 2021 in the T20 World Cup after which he was surprisingly dropped and never called up again. In six appearances in T20Is, he picked two wickets at an economy rate of just 5.86.