Varun Chakravarthy (Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com)
India's campaign at the Champions Trophy 2025 started off on a positive note after they secured a decisive victory over Bangladesh in their tournament opener. The bowlers particularly Mohd. Shami, Harshit Rana and Axar Patel were three crucial pillars that ensured that the Bangla Tigers were restricted for a modest total of 229 runs.
While Shami bagged a stunning five-wicket haul on his ICC comeback, Harshit supported him with a three-wicket haul and despite missing on a historic hat-trick, Axar claimed two wickets during the game. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, who bowled 23 overs collectively, remained economical.
Sunil Gavaskar's Take On India's Probable Bowling Line-up Vs PAK
However, in the upcoming match against their arch-rivals Pakistan, World cup winner, Sunil Gavaskar reckons that India would be forced to exclude one of the fast-bowlers to make way from spin-wizard Varun Chakravarthy. During a conversation with Sports Today, Gavaskar highlighted that despite pacers getting more wickets in the first clash in Dubai, it was the spinners who kept things tight and under control.
He further added that since the surface could assist the spinners more, India could perhaps consider playing Varun Chakravarthy in the upcoming match.
“The pacers got wickets for both teams. Shami got 5 and Harshit Rana got 3. While the pacers got wickets, the spinners were the ones who kept control, the ones who bowled tightly. I would imagine maybe that they make look to go in with Varun Chakravarthy as the extra spinner for Pakistan game,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar also noted that Hardik Pandya is being considered as a new-ball bowler, which may lead to India having to drop Harshit Rana if they choose to include an additional spinner in the lineup.
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