Gautam Gambhir’s No. 8 Desire Questioned As Varun Chakravarthy Joins India’s ODI Team

India head coach Gautam Gambhir loves to play 8 batters in the T20 side but that might no longer be a possibility. Ahead of the first ODI against England, India decided to add Varun Chakravarthy to the team, hoping to get his red-hot T20 form converted in ODI cricket too. However, Varun’s inclusion in the playing XI is likely to cost the Indian team a batter or all-rounder. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra asked the team to keep realistic expectations over batting depth if the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner makes the XI for the ODIs against England. Notably, Chakravarthy was not picked in the playing XI during the first ODI against the Three Lions on Thursday.

Varun wasn’t originally a part of India’s ODI squad for the series but was added on Tuesday after emerging as the player of the tournament in the T20I series against the same opponents.

“This is a big one as well because Varun Chakaravarthy was in my original team. I felt Varun should be kept because you won’t need too many finger spinners and the wrist spinners might actually have a bigger say. However, the selectors hadn’t picked him,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

“Now you have suddenly picked Varun Chakaravarthy here. Since you have decided to use his current red-hot form, which I think is the right thing to do, you will have to play him here now. You cannot make him warm the bench. You don’t call someone from outside to have tea. Now that you have come, you have to play,” Chopra added.