Varun Chakravarthy's ODI debut confirmed before ICC Champions Trophy 2025 with fresh act

India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is almost confirmed to make his ODI debut in the ongoing three-match ODI series opener against England. Ahead of the IND vs ENG 1st ODI, Chakravarthy was seen doing something that has confirmed his contention.

Initially, Chakravarthy was not part of the ODI squad, but after his stellar performance in the recent five-match T20I series against England, where he took 14 wickets and was named 'Player of the Series,' he earned his maiden ODI call-up for the crucial home series.

Varun Chakravarthy set to make ODI debut in Nagpur

Well, ahead of the first ODI in Nagpur, the in-form leg-spinner was seen troubling Indian batters during practice at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. Meanwhile, a Sportstar journalist has confirmed that Chakravarthy is all but sure to get his maiden ODI cap before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 later this month.

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He shared a picture from India’s training session on his social media handle, where Chakravarthy can be seen marking his run-up at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium ahead of the much-anticipated ODI debut against England.

Varun Chakravarthy has marked his run up. An ODI debut on the cards? @sportstarweb pic.twitter.com/2ywM6VnTIH

— Shayan Acharya (@ShayanAcharya) February 6, 2025

Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy has been training with the Indian cricket team for the past few days in Nagpur, even before the official announcement of his inclusion in the ODI squad for the three-match series against England. Since then, the Tamil Nadu spinner has been in focus.

Varun Chakravarthy clean bowled Yashasvi Jaiswal at nets

Well, in another viral video, Chakravarthy bowled out young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal during the team’s training session. Notably, Jaiswal is also in line to make his ODI debut in the upcoming series against England. He was also named in the Champions Trophy 2025 squad.

Jaiswal vs varun chakravarthy 🥶 pic.twitter.com/iZqWo0FPTa

— Vishnu Sharma (@vishnu9288292) February 5, 2025

Earlier, Rohit Sharma broke his silence on the buzz about Chakravarthy’s inclusion in the squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. However, the Indian skipper didn’t provide clarity but hinted at the in-form spinner’s selection for the prestigious tournament.

Rohit Sharma said at the pre-match press conference, “Right now we are not thinking about whether we're going to take him or not, but definitely he will be in contention. If things pan out really well for us and he does what is required, then definitely there is something that we need to think about.”

Varun Chakravarthy joins Adil Rashid at No. 2 in the ICC T20I Rankings

Meanwhile, Chakravarthy’s outstanding performance in the recent T20I series against England has helped him to make a significant rise in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings. The mystery spinner moved up three spots to be the joint second-ranked bowler alongside England’s Adil Rashid in the updated ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings.

Read Also: Watch: Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami hand debut ODI caps to Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harshit Rana in Nagpur

Now, Chakravarthy shares the second spot with England's Adil Rashid as both players have equal 705 rating points in the latest rankings. Notably, Rashid had held the top spot for some time before losing it to Akeal Hosein, who has only two more rating points than Chakravarthy and Rashid.

Notably, Chakravarthy’s List A numbers are impressive, as he managed 59 wickets in 23 matches at an average of 14.13. He has also recorded four five-wicket hauls, including two career-best performances of 5 wickets for 9 runs in List A cricket.

In the 2024 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the star leg-spinner finished as the second-highest wicket-taker, just behind Arshdeep Singh, with 18 wickets at an average of 12.16. His economy rate of 4.36 was the best among the top ten wicket-takers this season.