ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on Yashasvi Jaiswal being left out for Varun Chakravarthy

The inclusion of the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy over the opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in India's Champions Trophy squad had raised quite a few eyebrows initially. However, India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has finally opened up on the topic and explained the reasoning behind this decision.

It is to be noted that Yashasvi Jaiswal was in India's preliminary squad as the third opener behind Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. However, Jaiswal was replaced by Varun Chakravarthy despite the latter being fit.

While Chakravarthy came in for Jaiswal, fast bowler Harshit Rana replaced Jasprit Bumrah, who was unable to recover in time for the tournament. Chakravarthy's inclusion in the squad is also linked to Bumrah's unavailability.

Also read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: ICC announces fixtures of warm-up games, no practice matches for India

Gautam Gambhir breaks on Varun Chakravarthy's inclusion

While speaking after India's 3-0 ODI series win over England, Gautam Gambhir opened up on Varun Chakravathy's inclusion for Yashasvi Jaiswal. Gambhir spoke about the need for a wicket-taking option in the middle overs which Chakravarthy is fully capable of given his variations.

“The only reason was that we wanted another wicket-taking option in the middle (overs). And we know what Varun (Chakravarthy) brings to the table. He can be a massive threat for a lot of teams who haven’t played him, and an X-factor as well,” Gambhir observed.

Chakravarthy has emerged to be a fine bowler in the T20I format for India. He is an attacking bowler and someone who is difficult to put away. The 33-year-old can be devastating in the middle overs and has the ability to pick up crucial wickets.

Varun Chakravarthy gets wickets in middle overs: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir also emphasized having a strong bowling attack and is focusing more on picking up the wickets in the middle overs. It is the reason why Varun Chakravarthy was picked ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

“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 because if he can actually get those wickets in the middle, it’s always going to be an advantage. Otherwise, we know that Yashasvi has a fabulous future ahead,” he added.

Yashasvi Jaiswal played the first ODI of the series against England which was also his ODI debut. The left-hander scored 15 runs in that match and was subsequently dropped for Virat Kohli in the next two ODIs.

Varun Chakravarthy's recent bowling form

Varun Chakravarthy has shown excellent form in the past few months. The mystery spinner was superb in India's domestic 50-over tournament Vijay Hazare Trophy this season. He picked up 18 wickets in just 6 matches for Tamil Nadu at an average of 12.16 and an economy rate of 4.36.

He was also the highest wicket-taker in the T20I series with 14 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 9.85 and an economy rate of 7.66. His performances helped him get a chance in the ODI squad for the England series and the Champions Trophy.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal is now in India's non-travelling reserves for the tournament alongside Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube. Jaiswal, Siraj, and Dube will travel to Dubai in case they are required. All of them offer different skills which gives the team management the flexibility to pick the players.