Why Rohit Sharma Replaced Harshit Rana With Varun Chakravarthy In IND Vs NZ Match?

Rohit replaces Harshit with Chakravarthy [Source: AP Photo]

The inevitable has happened and Rohit Sharma decided to drop Harshit Rana for the all-important clash Vs New Zealand in the Champions Trophy. Harshit has been decent for India in the two matches so far, but Rohit decided to sprung a surprise by not picking him for this clash.

Instead, the Indian captain has roped in Varun Chakravarthy as India go in with 4 front-line spinners on a slow and sluggish Dubai surface.

Why Rohit has dropped Harshit Rana?

So far, Harshit has been more than exceptional for India in the two matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan. Especially against Pakistan, he was economical and hardly gave runs at the top, and also picked up a solitary wicket.

But as more matches are played at this venue, the pitch gets wear down and hence, the team management decided to test the Kiwi batting with spinners. Chakravarthy did well in UAE conditions for KKR in the past, and his expertise would come into play as the wily spinner has been in excellent form.

Plus, there is a tendency that New Zealand batters find it difficult to tackle quality spin bowlers and Varun Chakravarthy will prove to be a threat for the Kiwi batters under lights when the pitch will crumble.

India Vs NZ, playing XIs

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

New Zealand Playing XI: Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O'Rourke

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