File photo of Gautam Gambhir
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir might be taking a few tricks from the Champions Trophy 2025 triumph to his next international assignment — the 5-match Test series in England which starts in June. Gambhir famously brought 5 spinners to Dubai for the Champions Trophy, using 4 of them together in a single match. Of the lot, Varun Chakravarthy was arguably the most effective performer despite only playing 3 matches. Now, Gambhir has been backed to use the mystery spinner on the tour of England as well.
Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, who also met Gambhir after India’s Champions Trophy triumph, has urged the coach to use his mystery spin bowling weapon in the England Test series as well.
“Mystery spinners are England’s weakness. It’s a swollen nerve for England. Will you leave out Varun Chakravarthy? No, you will have to play him. Or you will play Kuldeep Yadav with his high-end deliveries from both ends, they can’t read him,” Sidhu said in a chat on Sports Today.
The England Test series was Varun’s first major ODI assignment. It was only in the 50-over assignment against England that the spinner had made his debut in the format. With Ravichandran Ashwin already retired, including Chakravarthy in the squad for the England series might not be a bad idea at all.
Gambhir, however, is also keen to unearth the new pillars of the Indian team in the longest format. The coach has already told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of his intention to tour with the India A team to England next.
“Gambhir has been in discussions with the BCCI since he returned from Australia. He has expressed his desire to travel with the India ‘A’ team to get a clearer view of the reserve pool,” a BCCI source told the Times of India. “With India winning the Champions Trophy after Gambhir’s insistence for certain wild card players, one may expect him to assert more in future.”
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